Wherever You Go
by WikketKrikket
Summary: Sequel to AfI. Azreal has come back to Earth and couldn't be happier. Only problem is, something is happening to her Muse powers. Something is happening to Wherever. So, maybe she needs to go back just once more...
1. Back to School

A/N: Well, she's back, I'm back, and these overly long A/Ns are back! I'm very happy to be here, at my first EVER sequel, to Amusing for Inspiration! I've kinda missed Azreal… Well, please excuse the INCREDIBLE lameness of this chapter. It's just the introductory bits, more indicating where we're at from last time then anything else. But bear with it- It's the Summer holidays, (Odd Chapter title, all things considered)and updates will be frequent! As in, everyday when I can, more likely every other day. I had incredible writer's block on this chapter (As certain people will tell you) so it's even worse then it would be without. Still, it should get better, because all the other chapters I know what I'm doing. Oh, and for those who don't know, in Japan the school year starts in April for some reasons that I don't understand. But I'm using that fact to my advantage, before anyone thinks it's weird.

Disclaimer: Same as with AfI- I OWN NOTHING! Except… Oh, I own Az! WAI! But, the inspiration for the original fic came from webcomic 9th Elsewhere, the link to which is on my bio, so all due credit there. Happy? Good. Let's go!

One: Back to School

"I don't think much of this uniform…" She sighed, tugging at the skirt in a vain attempt to make it stretch a few inches. "It feels like I'm wearing nothing but a belt…"

Seto said nothing, just raising an eyebrow and glancing at her. Then he turned back to his book, which he wasn't reading.

"Pervert."

He looked up sharply. "I didn't even say anything!" He protested.

"You don't have to." She grinned. "You're a guy, and so, I can tell by the way you look what you're thinking."

"I fail to see the logic." Seto shook his head. Who would dare talk to him like that? More to the point, who would _get away _with speaking to him like that? Only one person, and that was Azreal Kiyoko, the girl/muse he had somehow ended up with. She had only been back overnight, and she had only been there for two weeks before hand, but it felt like she had always been around. And now she was coming to his school. Heaven help them all. "Anymore of that," He said lightly. "And you can walk."

"Okay, fine…" She laughed softly. She would almost have rather walked, despite the April Rains chucking it down outside the slow moving car, making the road even more slippery. She was very uncomfortable in this car. It wasn't the car itself, which wasn't (to her initial disappointment, but then relief) the limo which she just _knew _Seto hid away somewhere, but just an ordinary, if expensive, car with a driver named Redge. It wasn't Seto either. She had only known him in person for almost three weeks, but she had been researching him for at least a month before that. No, the thing that made her uncomfortable was Mokuba, who was sitting oppisite her, openly eyeing her in suspicion. She had an undeniable feeling that he knew, or, at least, had a theory about exactly who and what she was. She quashed the nerves quickly. There was no way Mokuba could. Even if he _had _had memories of her before, they would have been wiped. His mind would be blank of her. So he couldn't know. He was just suspicious because of the… effect… she seemed to be having on Seto. She had to admit, Seto seemed a lot happier these days.

Little did she know, Mokuba knew a lot more then anyone realised. Even just from his chance meeting of his older brother's 'business associate' on the stairs had aroused his suspicions. And then, he had seen the same girl's body floating down the same stairs. And then he found Seto conked out at the bottom of the stairs, insisting, when he mentioned the girl's name, that he did not know her. And then he had seen him kissing her, blatantly, on the porch of their house.

So of course he was a little cautious. It wasn't that he didn't like Seto having a girlfriend- Geez, it was about time- and he _liked _to see Seto happy. And, unlike all the other girls that had chased Seto, he, naturally trusting, didn't think she was after his money. But she was defiantly odd, and so different to Seto, he couldn't see any reason why she should like him. There was something strange about her, and, if no-one would tell him, he intended to find out for himself.

Mokuba, in some ways, was right to be suspicious. Anna Mitsan, to use her human name, was not a human. At least, not _completely. _Born to a Muse mother, and a Human Father, she had long struggled to be accepted in the Musing World, trying desperately hard at her work and job. Unfortunately, she was a little _too _unorthodox for people's liking, meaning there was more ammo to throw at her. At the beginning of the Easter break, she had been sent down on what would, though she had not known it at the time, be her last job: To Inspire a flagging Webcomic artist.

Little did she know, the one she was sent to inspire- a certain Joey Wheeler- hated the one that the Muses had enlisted to help her- Seto Kaiba. And the feeling was Mutual. She suspected that they had done it deliberately to make her job difficult, but would never voice this opinion.

Either way, she had screwed up. Badly. With numerous extra mind wipes and a trip to hospital to boot. And had thusly been booted out of Wherever.

Little did she know, ever since she had _accidentally _returned her Father's memories, he and her mother had been planning her 'exile'. They knew that Azreal would be happier on Earth, even if she hadn't realised it- or even that she had a choice- yet.

She hadn't been too happy with them at first, but she had to admit that it had made life easier. Everything was ready for her, including a place at the local school. And so, not even an entire 24 hours after she had returned to Earth, she was moved in with her Father and his family, her boyfriend had his memories back, and she was starting at the beginning of a new school year. She supposed she could call him her boyfriend now. They had kissed, after all. More then once.

The car pulled over to the pavement, and her heart beat faster- but it was Mokuba's school, not hers. She sighed in relief as Mokuba gave a stony goodbye and left.

"I get the impression he doesn't like me…" She sighed unhappily. She was one of those people who wanted to be liked by everyone, but often wasn't.

"He'll come around." Seto shrugged. "He's just a bit wary of you."

"I guess that's understandable, considering most of the jerks he's met…"

Seto grunted non-committaly, and they sat in silence until they arrived.

"The Office is over there." He pointed, hair already sticking to his head in the wet.

"Right…" She swallowed.

"Nervous?" He teased "Whatever happened to 'I can handle anything'?"

"I can!" She protested. "It's just… I've been working since I was thirteen. It's just kinda… weird to be back in school! Nothing else!"

He snorted. "Whatever. I'll see you later."

"Bye." She replied, walking off, before breaking into a run to get out of the rain. Of course, it was pointless, they were already soaked from just that small conversation in the downpour. But she ran anyway, feet splashing in puddles, towards the office. Or away from her past life. She disappeared a moment later inside the building.

After a second, Seto turned and began to walk towards his form room. There was no rush. He was already soaked, and probably already late. He smiled slightly. Anna was joining the school.

Domino High didn't know what it had gotten itself into.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The room was full of noise and chaos. People were sitting in groups, chattering excitedly and catching up over the holidays, discussing places they'd been and things they'd done, and what they were going to do over the next academic year. And this group of friends was no exception.

"It was so strange…" Ryou said again, absently twirling a strand of hair in his hands in a vain attempt to get some of the rain water out of it. Although he did not know it, this had quite an effect on the girls, admiring him from across the room. "I have no idea who she was, but she knew my name…"

Ryou had never met Azreal, although he had seen the results of what she had started- a disastrous attempt to set him and Téa up. As such, when she had ambushed him and started screaming something about humanity, he had been understandably confused.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_Ryou was walking home, just as he did every day, (Except this time from the park) when he heard someone calling his name._

_"Ryou!" The caller was short girl with a large amount of brown hair that grabbed his wrists and swung him round and round, laughing "I'm back! Isn't it great!" Ryou pulled away._

_"Excuse me…" He said as politely as possible under the circumstances. "Do I know you?" The girl blinked, then started to laugh again._

_"Oh, I forgot. No, you don't, but you soon will!" She started practically skipping down the street. "My name is Anna Mitsan and I am now ONE HUNDRED PERCENT HUMAN BEING!" She laughed in pure happiness and ran off._

_Ryou blinked. "Strange girl…" He murmured._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-End Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Are you sure you don't know her?" Yugi asked, cocking his head quizzically. "Did she tell you her name?"

Just then, the teacher entered. "Alright, calm down please!" He shouted. "Find a seat and sit down, if you please, ladies and gentlemen." Everyone went to do so, climbing down off desks, windowsills and radiators, and scrambling for seats. "I'll be your form tutor for this year, and if I've ever taught you before- I do see a few familiar faces- then you'll know I'm not that bad- and that there's only one thing I can't stand- dossers. So, if you don't waste my time, I won't waste yours." He eyed the class, in witch the noise level was rising again. "Quiet please!" He insisted. "I need to take the register. Just stick your hand up when you answer, so I can put some names to faces…"

"I'll tell you later…" Ryou muttered to Yugi, who was sitting to one side of him, and not a moment to soon, because his name was called just then. "Yes sir!" Ryou answered, raising a hand.

It was almost a shame that Ryou never told Yugi the girl's name, for it would have surely stirred some memories in the others minds, even if they had known her better as Azreal. But now their minds had been wiped, and they would not remember her.

Unless they just happened to bump into her somewhere.

"Now…" The form tutor said. "Our timetables haven't arrived yet… Can I have two volunteers to go and get them for me?"

Téa, on Yugi's other side, put her hand up enthusiastically, craftily poking Yugi in the armpit till he yelped in pain and inadvertedly raised his arm.

"Thank you, you two." He smiled, and Yugi climbed wearily to his feet, following Téa out of the room. "The rest of you, just talk quietly amongst yourselves for a while…"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Seto heard voices coming down the corridor towards him. Voices he instantly recognised.

"…wish you wouldn't do that…" Yugi was sighing.

"Hey, we get out of class." Téa's voice sounded. Seto smirked. He wondered if the teachers, the ones that idolised the girl, heard her talk like that. They still hadn't noticed him, travelling down the hallway towards them.

"First, it's not class, it's _form, _pointless at the best of times." Yugi pointed out. "And, second, everyone else is just mucking about while we- Oh!" Seto had finally been spotted. "Good morning, Kaiba."

"'Morning!" Téa echoed. It was obvious that, just like every morning, they were not expecting a response. Seto grinned mentally. Maybe he'd just surprise them.

"Good morning." He replied, smiling. Yes, he _smiled. _And it broadened in slight amusement at Yugi and Téa's shocked faces.

Yugi, realising they were staring, began to stammer something.

Seto raised an eyebrow.

Yugi, now go slightly red, continued to stammer. Seto waited patiently.

"K-Kaiba!" Yugi spat eventually. "Did you… have a nice holiday?"

"The work was less mindless _at _work then it is here." Seto shrugged.

Silence fell, but somehow Seto just _knew _that they would not be willing to end what was perhaps their first _ever _proper conversation just like that. (A/N: Although, of course, in the series they never dubbed, he would have talked to them a lot whilst pretending to be their friend… But I divulge.) And Téa, true to Friendship-Freak-Form, was not.

"Are you running late?" She asked, stupidly. That was just begging for sarcasm. Seto bit it back. He was trying to creep them out by being friendly for his own amusement, not, for once, insulting them for his own amusement.

"More so since I stopped to talk to you." He shrugged again. "And yourselves?"

"We've got to go and get the timetables." Téa explained.

"I see." Seto replied. "Well, see you in a moment."

He walked away down the corridor, listening. And, sure enough, when they thought he was out of ear shot, he heard their reaction.

"How paranormal was that?" Yugi asked in bewilderment. "If I didn't know better, I would swear that we just had a perfectly polite, _ordinary, _conversation with _Kaiba!"_

"Yugi!" Téa scolded. "Perhaps he's just finally decided to be nice to people…" But she didn't seem to believe it.

"Maybe…" Yugi said doubtfully. "But I wouldn't put it past him to be up to something…"

Seto held back a laugh. Excellent, now they were freaked out _and _paranoid that he was up to something. It wasn't often he had the time or energy to wind people up, other then reminding them how much better he was then them. It was just the kind of thing Az would find funny. He'd have to tell her later. _She's_ _a bad influence on me… _Seto thought wryly. Then something occurred to him, and his lips curled again in slight amusement.

Yugi would have had his memories of Azreal wiped, and Téa had never met her. But now they were all going to be at the office at once…

This should be interesting.

Seto had reached his form room now, and entered, ready to defend his lateness. Just watch them try to give him detention for it. To do an after school detention, you needed your parent or guardian's permission.

He was Mokuba's guardian, and he looked after himself. So therefore, he'd have to give _himself _permission to go to detention.

How he loved loopholes.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When Yugi and Téa arrived at the office, someone was already there, talking to the receptionist, who nodded before disappearing into a back room.

The girl sighed a little, rubbing her forehead, before turning around and seeing them. She looked a little surprised for a second, before regaining composure and smiling.

"Hi there." She said. Yugi did not return the greeting. He wasn't deliberately being rude, but something about this girl was really bugging him.

"Good morning." Téa replied, nudging Yugi until he distractedly echoed her words. "Excuse me, but are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before…"

"That's right." She nodded. "It's my first day here." She laughed nervously. "I hope people can get used to me!"

"We get used to a lot around here." Téa smiled. "I'm Téa, and this is Yugi. Stick with us, and you'll be fine!"

"Thank you." She grinned back. "I'm Anna Mitsan." She introduced herself, with a definite look at Yugi. Would he remember? Not likely. He hadn't been all that close to her, and the name wasn't one he knew her by…

But he did. Yugi's eyes widened in shock, and he broke into a huge grin. And she knew that he knew.

"I don't believe it." Yugi laughed. "You actually wiped our memories…"

"Evidently it doesn't work that well." Azreal laughed, hugging him. "The Muses really need to work on their mind-wiping techniques. People are remembering everywhere!"

"Maybe it's just you." Yugi replied. "What are you doing here!"

Téa looked back and forth in confusion between the two, wondering if she was missing something…

The secretary returned, and Azreal and Yugi hastily ended their conversation, pulling away from each other. The receptionist smiled.

"I take it you two know each other?" She asked.

"Sort of…" Anna replied vaguely. "We met a few weeks ago…"

Téa was even more confused, but, knowing that some things were better left unsaid in public when Yugi was around, made a note of asking him about it later.

"I see." She replied. "Well, we'd better put you in their form, hadn't we? I think there's a space…"

There was. Azreal smiled. So, she would be in Seto's class for at least some of the subjects. That should be interesting. She'd always wanted to see him in school…

"Now all you have to do is choose your classes and we're all set!" She told Anna happily. "There won't be much choice, I'm afraid, seeing as everyone else picked last year, but I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks." Anna smiled, standing there for quite some time, dully picking one class or another, as the receptionist compiled a time table for her and added her name to class lists.

"Now, this is the complicated bit- languages." She said, turning to her. "Basically, everyone has two hours on a Friday dedicated to languages. You have to do one lesson of English, being as it's our second language, but you can choose from French, Russian, Spanish or German for the second hour. We used to offer double English, but it was an administration nightmare, so they dropped it. Anyhoo, the other option is to take English and then take PSHE instead of another language. So, what will it be?"

"Actually," Azreal answered. "I already speak it."

"Which language?" The secretary asked. "English? French? Spanish? German? Russian?"

"Um…" She shifted uncomfortably. "All of them…"

There was no way she could pretend not to know a language she spoke fluently. The thing was, as soon as she visited a place, she picked up the language in a matter of moments. She'd just get there and find she knew how to speak it. It was, evidently, a characteristic she'd picked up from her mother's side. All Muses had the knack, but she was the only one that found it strange.

"All of them?" The secretary blinked. "How? If you don't mind my asking? You don't sound foreign…"

"Oh, well…" Azreal was panicking now. One thing she was not was a good lair. "What it is…"

"Her mom works for Kaiba Corp." Yugi said, jumping into save her. "Helps to set up branches abroad."

The receptionist smiled. "I see. Master Kaiba isn't much of a linguist, from what I hear. So," She turned to Anna. "You've travelled a lot with your mother?"

"That's right." Azreal replied in relief. "But now I'm living with my dad."

"Well," The receptionist became business like again, tapping a few more keys. A moment later, a sheet of paper, with the time table on it, scrolled out, and she handed it to Anna. "You're all ready to go! I hope you like it here."

"Thanks, I will."

"And what can I do for you two?"

Téa stepped forward, and a second later, the time tables were secure between her and Yugi. The three headed down the deserted corridors to form, Azreal twisting nervously.

"Don't worry." Téa smiled. "I have no idea who you are, or how you know Yugi, or why you seem a little… different… to most other people, but I like you. And I just know everyone else will!"

Azreal laughed. "How can you say that, when we haven't even had a proper conversation?"

"Sometimes I can just tell." Téa responded mysteriously. "Besides, you can bet Yugi will tell me everything later!"

"Speaking of telling people things…" Yugi put in sheepishly. "You might maybe want to tell Seto that your mom works for him…"

"Good luck in explaining that one." Téa snorted.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The class stared openly at the new girl, some with whispering recognition, others in curiosity, Seto with a very strange look like he couldn't decide whether to be pleased or worried, and Ryou in open surprise as the one who had ambushed him walked into his classroom.

"Would you care to tell us something about yourself, Anna…?" The form tutor prompted.

"Um…" She hesitated. What was she supposed to say? She didn't have any interests or anything yet! What could she say to do with Earth when she had only been there one night! "Sure." She smiled weakly, turning to the class. "Hi. Well, as he said, I'm Anna, and some of you…" She glanced at the area of the room in witch Yugi and the others sat. "May have seen me around recently, but you probably didn't realise it- I just moved in with my dad here." She really wanted Joey and the others to remember her, but she couldn't tell them openly, not here. She'd have to be sneaky. "And, well, I'm a bit of a nerd, really. I spend a lot of time online, I like to read webcomics… My favourite has to be 'Angels with Broken Wings', I was scared when I thought it was fini-"

That had done it. They remembered her now.

"Azreal!" Joey, Tristan and Duke all yelled as one, slightly surprised that they had forgotten her and that she was _here_, of all places.

"Um…" She tried her best to look surprised at the interruption as the class laughed and the three covered their mouths, embarrassed. "I guess that's it."

"Well, thanks, Anna." The form tutor said, glaring at Joey and the others. "I hope you'll like it here; I'm sure you'll fit in just fine."

"I'm sure I will." Azreal couldn't help smiling.

She was back, and this time, no-one would be able to forget her.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Well, Chapter one FINALLY done and dusted, however bad it is. I have deliberately not read through this chapter, because I know, like the other umpteenth attempts, I'll delete it all in a fit of artistic fury. So I will very carefully post it and never look at it again.


	2. Mind Games

A/N: Well, I've been working all day on this, and it kinda shows. I didn't realise when I was typing it quite _how _insanely long it is. Let's just say it's twice the length of chapter one. But that's okay, considering that I am out for the next three days, then at home on Friday before going away on holiday for two weeks. I shall try to write and post as many chapters as possible this week, but I really don't know how that'll work out.

**One thing.** For the first few chapters, we shall be taking a 'fast forward' through Az's first year-and-a-bit in Domino. These scenes may seem unnecessary now, but they are important, trust me- particularly in the final fic to this trilogy. So bear with them, I think you'll like some of them…

Disclaimer: I really can't be bothered to think of a witty way to explain what I own and what I don't. So just laugh and pretend I did.

Review Responses:

Willowwind: Well, thanks for reviewing despite what is obviously severe adversity. I hope you figure your PC out soon... I shall miss your E-mails and our classic MSN conversations- about the weather- and I'm going on holiday very early on Saturday, so early, it'll be Friday night for you. I'm hoping to post again before then, but... _(Shrugs) _And before some smart-aleck points out that you won't be reading this till your comp is fixed, I shall tell them that they may be smart but I am faster.

Dragonlady222: I have to admit that I was suprised to get a review from you for this fic. As I said to my younger sister, I didn't realise you had read **Amusing for Inspiration**, because I didn't recall you ever reviewing or mentioning it when you reviewed IMM. And I was like, 'Ah! Does she realise this is a sequel to AfI and _not _**It's My Move!**' And then I was like, 'Oh well, a review is a review!' I'm not complaining one bit. :-) Great to hear from you, as always.

And so, to the INSANELY long chapter in witch Azreal learns the joy of G&T and PSHE, as does Seto, Ryou gets his revenge on the evil gym teacher, somewhat, and Az takes a trip to the Shrink!

Two: Mind Games

_April_

The bell rang, indicating the end of Break. The people filed back inside the building from the playground slowly, in no hurry to get to class. Except one girl, who, although she wouldn't ever admit it, was loving every second of it.

Anna couldn't believe that only a week before, she had been in hospital in another world entirely. They say time flies when you're having fun, but that certainly wasn't true in this case. She felt as though she had been here forever. She was having so much _fun_! Living with her dad and James and Ruby had worked out amazingly well. Her father's wife turned out to be tolerant and accepting, coping with the situation easily, and James was such a cute little kid. She didn't realise that part of this acceptance came from her being so easy to get along with, but it was true. She saw Seto pretty much every day, even if Mokuba still didn't like her, she had a great group of friends already, and all in all, life was pretty swell. Sure, she had only been there a week, but hey, school sure beat work.

She struggled with her locker door, her smile fading slightly as it stubbornly refused to open.

"Stupid thing…" She muttered, cursing.

"May I make a suggestion?" Someone behind her asked mildly.

"Be my guest," She sighed, stepping back to let Ryou in. This had been his locker the year before. Which would probably explain why it still smelt oh-so-faintly of whatever washing powder he used on his PE kit.

"Okay…" He muttered softly, putting in the combination slowly and gently. Then he pulled hard, at the same time as kicking the bottom of the door as hard as he could. It swung open.

Anna and the others applauded, and he laughed, coming out the way to let her in. She quickly pulled out her pencil case, smiling as she looked inside the locker. She only had one picture inside, and no-one knew why she always smiled when she saw it. It was a small comic strip, showing some muddy, dirty sheep complaining about having to have a bath. Only one sheep got out of it, because his coat had been black to begin with, and the farmer didn't realise he was dirty. Underneath, it had written 'Being Different is more Fun'. Seto had cut it out a newspaper for her earlier the week, not that she'd let on. She knew why he had thought it suitable for her. To use an old expression, she was the black sheep of her family, the odd one out, the hated one.

And, yes, she was having more fun.

"What class do you have now?" Yugi asked, as she pulled out her timetable, still not used to it. "It's Friday, so we should have two hours of languages now…"

She smiled gratefully. She had only been there four days, no matter what it felt like, and she still forgot where things were, so someone usually hung around to show her the way. At least she knew the layout of the day now. Form, 2 lessons, break, 2 lessons, lunch, and a final lesson.

"It says G&T…" She looked up in confusion. "G&T? What's that when it's out?"

"Ah, you're with me." Ryou gave a genuine smile. "Gifted and Talented, if you'll believe it. It's just where they shove anyone who already has a second language, despite what they'll tell you."

"Oh." She replied, bidding the others goodbye as they left. She began to follow Ryou down an unfamiliar corridor, only to see Seto striding the other way, looking annoyed.

"What's up with you?" She hissed as they passed each other.

"They're making me take PSHE…They seem to think I need it…" He scowled, whispering. They made a point not to pay too much attention to each other in school, for privacy's sake. If Ryou had noticed the quick, quiet exchange, he was too polite to mention it. He also declined to comment on the smirk twisting Anna's face as she tried to hold back a laugh. The idea of Seto in PSHE was just too much…

"So," She said, getting a hold of herself. "What, exactly, do you do in G&T?"

"Whatever you like, really…" Ryou chuckled, opening a door to one of the classrooms. Anna's eyes scanned it quickly.

"Wow!" She gasped. "Look at all the-" She stopped abruptly and bolted away down the corridor.

After a moment of surprised hesitation, Ryou went after her- only to find her a few metres up the passageway, vomiting into a store cupboard. Ryou turned away, hating to watch people being sick. When she was finished, she straightened up shakily.

"Couldn't remember where the toilets were…" She said sheepishly, closing the door to the store cupboard and leaning against it. "What did I just vomit over?"

"Mr Karita's entire gym supply, from the sound of it." Ryou couldn't help smirking. It wasn't that he _disliked _the gym teacher… He just hated to ever see him. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"It was that room…" She said vaguely. "So much Creativity…"

Ryou blinked. Okay, so he knew what Anna was- and with his own 'unique' situation, he was hardly inclined not to believe it- but he never really understood it. He stood silently, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I need Creativity to survive, but without the systems they have in place in Wherever…" She wondered how to explain. "I just kind of breathe it in, I guess. And I wasn't ready… It was kinda like overeating. Really fast." She breathed in deeply, forcing the threatening bile back down her throat. "I'm alright now. I'll just have to… 'hold my breath' next time. It was just so full of Creativity… That's what I was going to say. The room is full of M-"

"Just what's going on out here?" The flustered G&T teacher asked, appearing just in time to see Azreal fling open the cupboard door and demonstrate _exactly _what was going on.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

She was almost glad to get to PSHE after the fiasco of G&T.

"Thanks for bailing me out, Ryou…" She said as they walked down the corridor. Without his quick thinking, the fiasco would have been a disaster of cataclysmic proportions.

"That's quite alright." He dismissed. "You weren't in any shape to lie, really."

Anna laughed slightly. That was true. She had barely been able to hear Ryou insisting that the smell of the freshly-painted G&T room had set her off over her own retching. She had then spent the entirety of the hour in the nurse's office, filling out allergy forms. Fun, and not embarrassing at all. Yeah.

"Hey, there's Téa and Yugi!" Anna said happily, nodding at the queue to the PSHE room. "I didn't know they took this class…"

"Well, Yugi hates languages and would do anything to get out of it," Ryou explained, sounding vaguely amused. "And Téa… well, it's Téa. You're lucky though. We have a new teacher this year- the last one was _awful…_"

Azreal made no reply as they joined the others at the end of the line. She had just noticed who else was in the line, slumped against the wall and not looking happy about it.

Ryou did not fail to notice, but again, was too polite to comment, as Anna noticed Seto, and how she smiled slightly when she saw him; how she caught his eye, and how, just for a second, a ghost of a smile flickered on his face to. Ryou was sure that there was something there, however unlikely it seemed…

"You should come to!" Téa said enthusiastically to Anna. They were throwing a surprise party the next weekend for Tristan's birthday, and were trying to enlist all his friends to help.

"Sure," She shrugged. "If you'll have me. My dad's wife makes awesome cakes… I can ask her for the recipe if you want, we can have a go…"

"Sounds great! Oh, my aunt makes these great biscuits…"

Ryou zoned out of the conversation slightly. Yes, he was going to Tristan's party, but he was hoping if he stayed quiet enough…

"Ryou!" Téa screamed suddenly, grabbing his arm. "You _have _to make some of those milkshakes you made for us that one time…" She continued blathering on, explaining to a bewildered Anna between demands 'what an awesome cook he was'. The fact was, he wasn't that great, but when you're living all alone… you have to fend for yourself.

The bell rang again, and it was time to go in, and meet the new teacher. This lesson would surely be spent sizing each other up, figuring each other out, and with Seto _and _Azreal, on top of Yugi and Téa, not to mention Ryou…

It should be interesting.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Hello, class!" The teacher said delightedly once they had all found seats. "I'm Miss Basa, and this is Personal, Social and Health Education, or as you may know it, PSHE! I'm so pleased you all chose this class! Languages are useful, but what good are they if you have no communication skills? I'm here to teach you about yourself and the world around you, training you up so that you can become fully-rounded members of society! I hope we're going to have lots of fun at the same time, and hopefully you'll leave my class with a smile, knowledge, and happy memories!"

Anna shook with silent mirth. She could see she wasn't the only one. This woman was certainly… enthusiastic about her subject. She quickly disgusted an escaping laugh with a cough, glancing at Seto out of the corner of her eye.

Sitting in his accustomed position of the back, left hand corner of the room, Seto saw her looking at her, and rolled his eyes. She laughed quietly, knowing what he was thinking.

"Now, I want to get to know you, so that when we start the work we can all be nice and personal and friendly." The teacher continued, not noticing the looks of disbelief and the whispered wonderings if they were supposed to take this seriously. "So, what I'm going to do is take this chair-" She did so, grabbing a chair and placing at the front of the room. "And one by one, you're all going to come out here, and we'll ask you some questions about yourself…" She saw that no-one looked particularly thrilled at this concept. "Don't worry…" She prompted. "We're all friends in here… Look, I'll go first!"

She sat down, and patiently waited for someone to get over their incredulity and ask her something.

"What's your name? Full name, I mean?"

"Miss Sue Basa." She pronounced proudly.

"How old are you?"

"No comment." She said slowly.

"What bra size are you?" One boy called out daringly, causing raucous laughter.

"Ask me again when you're old enough to find out for yourself." She replied calmly, causing the laughter to increase. Standing up and smoothing the creases out on her skirt, she turned to face them.

"And that's it. Three questions, and you're done. Although…" she glanced pointedly at the boy who had been so interested in her underwear. "I think I'd better ask the questions…" She snatched her register list up from her desk. "We'd better just work our way down here…"

Anna saw Ryou, a few seats across the room, sigh deeply.

"So, first up… Ryou Bakura?"

Ryou sighed again, clenching his fists and stood up. You could just _tell _he was sick of always being at the top of the registers. It would seem that not many Japanese surnames began with 'A'.

He sank into the chair, taking a deep breath, and calming his nerves.

"Okay Ryou…" Miss Basa said, smiling at him. "Tell me, how many siblings do you have?"

Ryou hesitated. "…One. I had a sister."

She was obviously wondering about his use of the past tense, but didn't press it. "And your home town?"

"Stoke." Ryou replied.

"Where?" She blinked.

"Stoke-On-Trent." Ryou repeated, hoping to see recognition on her face, but there was none. Sighing, he gave up on anyone here ever knowing where his home town was. "England." He said dully.

"I see. And what do you dream to do in the future?"

"I want to travel." Ryou said instantly. "Oh, and change my second name so it begins with a 'Z'…"

He returned to his seat to a few appreciative laughs.

"Thank you, Ryou." Miss Basa smiled. "Next up… do with have a Kaho Bijou?"

"Here!" Kaho called, practically running up to the front. Anna folded her arms and rested her chin on her arms, ready to sleep for most of the lesson.

She perked up a bit when it reached Téa. This could be fun.

"Tell us…" Miss Basa considered. "What are you afraid of, Téa?"

"Monsters…" Téa answered, laughing embarrassedly and going slightly red. But she had answered in good humour, laughing at her own folly. Besides, with everything she'd been through with Yugi and the others, she had every right to be afraid monsters- if not necessarily the ones that lurk in cupboards and under beds.

"Okay, that's fair enough. What are your hobbies?"

"I love to dance." Téa smiled dreamily. "I love it when the music just gets into you and you can't help but move to it…" Anna watched in interest as Téa talked. She was so passionate about the subject, it was obviously something she really loved and related to. "It's just the best feeling in the world… When your body becomes one with the music, and you move to the beat, and it's like time stops and speeds up all at once, and you feel nothing and everything…" Téa suddenly caught herself, blushing as she realised how she'd been blabbering on. "Sorry…" She muttered, going even redder as most of the class laughed at her. Miss Basa took mercy on her, and Téa returned to her seat, on Azreal's left, looking as though she wanted the ground to swallow her. Anna lent over.

"I didn't think that was stupid…" She whispered. "I think it's great that you can feel like that about something."

Téa smiled gratefully before turning back to the front to watch the next person get grilled. Anna went back to her previous semi-conscious position and state of mind. As it was, she almost missed her name when it was called, Téa's nudge saving her. She went up to the front, hoping she didn't get a question she couldn't answer.

"Now, I'm going to ask you a hard one…" Miss Basa grinned, so she couldn't be sure if she was joking or not. "Something nice and metaphorical…. Hmm…" She tapped her chin, thinking. "You're new in town to, aren't you? Tell me how you got here."

Azreal knew she was speaking metaphorically, asking what had brought her to this school, and this city, and what had caused her to reach this place in her life. She could have possibly even given a good answer. But, as usual, her mouth got in the way.

"Through the door." She said, as though it was obvious.

Miss Basa gave a sunny laugh. "Very good. There's no flies on you, are there? Well, I think we're going to get on very well…" Her eyes twinkled. "We'll stick to straight forward questions from now on… What is your favourite food?"

"Pizza."

"And least favourite?"

"Anything with fish."

Anna went to sit down, and Yugi made his way to the front.

"Okay, Yugi. I might as well ask the obvious one-" she sighed. "What are your hobbies? As if there's anyone in the country that doesn't know…"

Yugi smiled and answered, predictably, with Duel Monsters.

"What are you afraid of?" She asked suddenly, throwing Yugi a little. He considered. He had been scared plenty of times in duels, and worried for his friends, and he was always secretly afraid that all his friends would die or leave, and he'd be friendless again, but he didn't mind being on his own, as long as he knew people were still there. At the moment, he was perfectly happy with life, and he wouldn't change a single bit of it. And then he realised what, he, the King of Games, who had saved the World on numerous occasions was scared of, scared to death of.

"I'm scared of change." He smiled slightly. "I like things just how they are, and I hope it always stays that way."

Miss Basa smiled to herself. A very mature answer. So she'd ask a final question, and hope it would lighten the mood a little. "Yugi, I want you to tell us something about yourself that no-one would _ever _guess."

Yugi was stumped. He couldn't tell them about Yami- they'd think he was crazy. And he didn't really have any other secrets… He didn't have _time _to get any other secrets, certainly not any he was willing to share with the class…

Meanwhile, Azreal and Seto were glancing at each other from the corner of their eyes. He knew what she was thinking. It had to be said. For the sake of comedy, it had to be said…

What would no-one _ever _guess about Yugi?

Azreal bit her lip. It had to be said. The thing that no-one would guess…

"His hair's completely natural, Miss!" She called, to the amusement of everyone, including Yugi.

"Is that true?" Miss Basa asked Yugi, whilst eyeing his hair and trying to look like she wasn't. Yugi nodded and was allowed to sit down, with some relief.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

They all thought they had finished when Dasikue Yamazuki took his seat, but it was not to be. There was one person who had been added to the class at very short notice, so his name was just scribbled onto the bottom of the register. One person who the despairing school Physiatrist insisted needed the class. One person who it was a very, very bad idea to do something like this.

"One more!" Miss Basa said happily. "Seto Kaiba?"

The room fell silent. She obviously didn't realise what a very, very, bad idea it was. A chair scraped back, and people turned round, gasping as Seto stood and began to walk to the front of the room. They couldn't believe he was actually going to do it. And they were slightly concerned as to what he was going to say…

"Behave…" Anna begged quietly as he passed her desk. He did not reply, going and sitting, arms folded, in the chair at the front of the room…

Miss Basa had just made the biggest mistake of her relatively short career. That was what she would tell everyone later, after she had handed in her resignation and took leave to handle a sudden nervous break down.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_May_

Mokuba scowled as he heard a phone ringing next door, in Seto's room. He _knew _who it was. Until that Mitsan girl had showed up, Seto had refused to have a telephone in there, just so he could occasionally get some privacy. Then he had a phone installed. Mokuba knew that it was a private line, separate to the rest of the house, with a different number. Seto did not give out that number to anyone. Mokuba knew it, but he certainly wasn't phoning his brother.

Which meant it could only be one person.

Mokuba's scowl turned to a frown. It wasn't that he didn't _like _Seto being happy, but there was something strange about this girl, something he couldn't quite put his finger on… What was she up to…?

Inside his room, Seto picked up the insistent phone, knowing who it would be, still scanning the Excel spreadsheet displayed on his monitor. He knew that Azreal would never phone him unless she really wanted to talk to him, or if she knew that he was particularly stressed, or if she felt like he needed a break from work. Not that he would've minded all that much if she _did _call more often- they got to talk precious little in the week; but she flatly refused to get in the way of his work, unless he was, in her eyes, overdoing it. What a girl.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not bothering with greetings. Something was obviously bothering her if she had felt she had to phone him. He was answered by a rather panicked Azreal.

"Seto!" She blurted. "I just came home, and I got a letter from the school! They've booked me in for an appointment with the school Physiatrist tomorrow! Why would they do that? Do they think I'm disturbed or something?" She gasped. "I mean, what if they've found out about me? What if he wants to do tests or something? I don't want to have to leave town, but if he's found out, they'll have to-" She became aware that Seto was laughing slightly at her. "It's not funny!" She protested hysterically. "This could be the end of my time on Earth!"

"Az, calm down…" Seto chuckled. "It's okay. They give all the new students a month to settle in, and then they have to see the shrink to see if they need counselling or whatever."

There was silence at the other end of the line. "Oh." Azreal sighed. Seto heard her flopping down on her bed in relief. "Thank goodness…"

Seto laughed, glancing at the clock on his screen. He hadn't realised quite how late it was.

"Aren't you usually in bed by now?" He asked, smirking. "Don't tell me you've been up all night worrying."

"Says Mr Insomnia." She snorted. "I'll bet you're still working."

"No I'm not." Seto denied.

"Seto, I can hear you typing, and you're hardly likely to be playing _Final Fantasy Eleven._" Azreal said, sounding amused. "Are you on speaker phone?"

Seto made no reply, glaring at his keyboard. It was supposed to be silent.

"Seriously, though…" Azreal said. "You should get some sleep, or at least do something that _isn't _to do with Kaiba Corp. You know what they say about all Work and No Play… It makes you grumpy."

"Wrong." Seto replied. "All Work and No Play makes me a Very Rich Man."

She giggled slightly. "That's not the point, Seto…"

"It is _a _point though." He insisted. "Look, don't worry about the Physiatrist, or any of the councillors you have to deal with. They're easy to fool despite all their degrees, and I speak from experience."

"I've no doubt." She said lightly. He could just imagine her smile. "Just how many have you managed to retire recently?"

She said it as a joke, but when Seto answered, it was quite seriously.

"Twenty-one." He said, considering. "Only 3 shrinks though. The school can't afford to get any decent ones, so they just prefer to send you to a councillor…"

Azreal said nothing for a moment.

"Wow." She said eventually. "Now I know why you found it so easy with poor Miss Basa…"

Seto straightened up. "That was _not _deliberate. If she can't do the job-"

Still, at least they didn't make him take PSHE after that.

"I know, I know…" Azreal soothed mildly, laughing at him. "Goodnight Seto." She hung up, and Seto's room was silent again.

After a moment's hesitation, Seto continued to work on the spreadsheet. How was he supposed to sleep after _that_?

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Azreal swallowed and knocked on the door before she had time to chicken out.

"Enter!" A slightly-shrill voice called. She did so, pushing open the door to the Doctor's office, which, according to Yugi, had once been a disabled toilet, before the school was extended.

The room was not a toilet anymore. It was the only room in the school that was carpeted, and it was rather dark to. Apart from the typical couch, the room could have been any office in the world, with two bookcases, a desk, the aforementioned sofa and a chair that a rather small, bearded man was sitting in. She just _knew _that from now on, she would think of him as 'Flitwick'. "Ah," He said, looking at his notes. "You must be Anna. Would you care to have a seat?" She wouldn't, but she did so anyway, just to be polite, sinking onto the edge of the couch with some trepidation.

"Feel free to lie down if it's more comfortable." He offered.

"No thanks!" Anna replied hastily, a little too quickly to prove she wasn't nervous. She pressed on her skirt nervously. She did not want to be sitting down in a skirt so short, especially without a desk in front of her… Embarrassedly, she made sure her legs were as close together as possible.

"There's absolutely no reason to be worried." Flitwick promised. "I just want to get to know you… The best thing about this school is that help is available when ever you need it. We have a number of councillors, and you're welcome to come and see me if ever you want to talk to someone…"

"Thanks." She replied uncomfortably. "I'll bear that in mind…"

Flitwick looked at her. "Does that mean there _is _something you want to talk about?"

"No!" Azreal cried in some alarm. "I just mean, if there ever was…"

"I see." Flitwick said "And would you come to us first, if you had a problem?"

"No…" She replied, flustered. Then she realised that that might had sounded rude, and hastily amended herself. "No, I mean, I'd probably talk to my dad or Ruby or someone first…"

"And who is Ruby?" He asked. "Your sister?"

"Well, yes, actually, but she lives with my mom." Azreal answered. "Actually, I meant my dad's wife. She's called Ruby to…"

"Your mom and dad are divorced?" Flitwick asked, ears pricking. He sensed a disturbed child.

"Um, well…" Azreal shifted uncomfortably. They'd never actually got divorced, her dad had had his memories wiped of her mom, and got re-married before she had inadvertedly restored them. But how was she supposed to explain that? "Yes, they are. But they parted as friends."

"Why the hesitation, Anna?" Flitwick leaned forward, talking in what he obviously thought was a comforting tone. She leaned back, feeling slightly panicked. "How do _you _feel about your parent's separation?"

"I don't mind…" Azreal said warily. "It's been like that pretty much since I can remember, and besides, they're both happy…"

"But are you?" He prompted.

"Yes." She answered. "Happier then ever. Everything's great… except maybe this uniform…It wouldn't be so bad if we could wear the same as the boys…"

"Yes, well." Flitwick said irritably. "Let's not stray off the point. Are you happy in your life?"

"Yeah, I just think this uniform stinks."

"I think you'll find," He ground out, annoyed at her. This was about her _state of mind, _not her ideas on fashion! "That the majority of the girls are happy with the uniform, and you have to compromise. Now, about _you-"_

"Has anyone ever thought to ask them?" Anna interrupted. "Just because no-one's ever made a fuss doesn't mean they like it-"

"Anna!" Flitwick said, trying to keep his voice under control. "I'm here to help _you. _Can we get back to the original concept, please?"

"Oh, sure."

He steepled his fingers. "It would seem to me that you are uncomfortable with this situation, that you don't feel you can confide in me. I would hope that one day you'll get over that uncertainty, but right now, let me just give you some advice…" He looked her in the eye. There was no _way _she could be as happy as she made out, he was sure of it. He'd heard about her, and she was just _too _happy with her life. And, over the next few days, it was his job to break through the defences and get to her. But he'd have to take it slow. He didn't want to scare her away. "You _can _change things. People will tell you that you can't, but you _can. _If there's something you're not happy with in life, strive to change it."

Anna looked pensive. "I'll remember that…" The session was over, and she went to leave. The Doctor put her in for another appointment next week. By that time, he was _sure _she'd be ready to talk to him…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_One Week Later…_

There came a knock on the door, and without waiting for an answer, Anna stuck her head round the door.

"Doctor?" She asked. "Do you have a minute?"

He looked at her from his desk, not expecting anyone to come in in the lunch hour. "Well, you're not due for another twenty minutes, but I don't have a client right now, so I think I can squeeze you in…"

"Oh no," She replied, smiling as she pushed into his room and handed him a clipboard. "I don't have _time _for a session today." He looked at her in disbelief. "I'm writing a petition, you see. I remembered what you said about changing something you don't like, so I decided to give a go, just like you told me to! I've got a ton of signatures to change the girl's uniform already, but there's no reason why you shouldn't to!" She pressed a pen into his hand, and he signed the long list numbly. "Some of them don't even want to _wear _the same uniform as the boys, they just want the _choice. _Fairness and Equality and all that." She shrugged. "Me, I just don't like wearing skirts." She pulled the clipboard out of his hands, and left the room, shouting a thank you over her shoulder, before closing the door behind her.

Téa stopped the clock, looking impressed. "Twenty-nine seconds with the shrink." She smiled. "That _has _to be a record."  
"Heh…" Azreal muttered. "I may not have retired twenty-one people, but I _do _get in and out quick…"

"What?" Téa asked, blinking.

"Nothing." She smiled. "C'mon, we've still got to get everyone in the canteen…!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_Another Week Later…_

Anna came and sat down oppisite him, on a table in the corner of the almost-empty canteen, as it was nearly the end of the lunch hour.

"Success." She said, grinning like a cat that's got the cream. "Apparently over ninety percent of the girls signed it. And then there was all the boys that were forced by their girlfriends…"

Seto said nothing. Evidently, she had not noticed _his _signature on it.

"As from September, I shall be wearing the same uniform as you!" She concluded triumphantly as he shook his head wryly. "What's that for?"  
"You've been here less then two months, and you've already changed the entire system." He smiled dryly. "I don't know why I expected any less of you."

Her grin widened. "Is that your version of a congratulations…?"

"No." Seto replied, but then raised his half-drunk cup of machine coffee that tasted exactly the same as the tea slightly, and nodded his head. "Congratulations, Az, on your victory over skirts that are too short." He intoned seriously. "This calls for celebration. Do you fancy going out somewhere tonight?"

Anna blinked in surprise. They rarely even got chance to have a proper conversation, let alone go out. Most of the time, she just came to his house. But was he actually suggesting that they went out? In public? Together? "You don't have to work?" She asked, regaining the ability to talk.

"No." Seto answered. "I was supposed to have a big meeting with the head of another company tonight, so I emptied my desk yesterday, but they cancelled. So now I have a reservation at a very fancy restaurant, very private, very discreet, cooking _very _much better then mine-"

"Not that that's hard to achieve," She teased lightly, but he ploughed on regardless.

"That could be put to much better use then a business meeting." He concluded.

"I would love to." Azreal replied, grinning from ear to ear. She couldn't believe how happy Seto was- she knew how much he had been dreading this meeting, and now he got out of it, and had no work to do.

Seto _was _feeling unusually happy. He always felt slightly as though he was being unfair on Azreal, the way they ignored each other in school, the way they had only been outside his house once or twice, the way he never showed her how he felt because he was too shy or Mokuba was around, but now he could finally do something nice for her. Restaurants, in all honesty, were not his 'scene', but he knew Az would love the place he had booked. And he knew that, finally, he could just have some time with her to relax…

"The reservation's for seven." He said, smiling despite the fact that if anyone saw him, his ice-god image would be shattered. "But it's quite a drive. Is half six alright for picking you up."

"Fine…" Azreal managed to get out, unable to believe her luck. She wasn't sure what her dad would have thought of her going out to a place like that before, but he had met Seto a few times now, and couldn't fail to notice how much she liked him. He also trusted them implicitly, which would explain why he didn't mind that she was around his house whenever she could. He realised that they got very little time together, so he would be only to pleased to let her go. It would mean that, once James was in bed, he'd get an evening alone with Ruby to… There shouldn't be a problem on the parent front.

The bell rang for form, and Anna stood up, flattening her skirt down as it threatened to ride up.

"I can't _wait _to get rid of this thing…" She muttered.

"Yes, but you can bet you won't be too popular with the guys." Seto pointed out as they walked to class, trying to look for all the world like they just happened to be going the same way. They wanted to keep their private life private.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"You must really hate those skirts…" Téa laughed as they retrieved their stuff to go home from their lockers at the end of the day. "You've been smiling all afternoon."

"Mmm." Anna replied, knowing she was being too obvious, but unable to stop smiling. "Yes, well you know how I hate these things…"

"I do," Téa smirked, "But I think there's something you're not telling me…"

Anna ignored that last comment, digging through her locker more frantically now. "Hey… Have you seen Yugi's birthday present?"

"Birthday present?" Téa blinked. It was Yugi's birthday at the start of June, about a week and a half away, and they had stopped at a small gift shop before school that morning to get him something. "Wasn't it in your jacket pocket?"

"It was…" Anna replied mournfully, pulling the vibrantly coloured coat from her locker and checking the pockets again. "But I put it in here before form this morning, and I thought maybe it had fallen out in here, but I can't find it!" She forced herself to calm down. "I guess I'll just go to the office and check at lost property…" She sighed.

"You want me to come?" Téa asked, but her friend saw her glancing at her watch.

"No, it's alright, I'll go." She assured Téa. "You get to your dance class- you just make sure that, when you're a big star, I get a ticket to your shows!"

Téa laughed modestly, and bade Anna goodbye as they headed in oppisite directions down the now-empty hall.

Azreal smiled wryly. She was becoming a familiar face at the Lost property office, being her scatterbrained self, she was always losing things. But she was determined not to let it worry her, or, even if she didn't find it, she wouldn't let it ruin her day. She had- to her surprise- had fun shopping with Téa, had changed the school for the better, set a new school record _and _got one over on the Shrink. To top it all off, it was the weekend, and she was going to a lovely restaurant with her even more lovely-looking boyfriend. The grin returned to her face. Nothing could ruin this day.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When she reached the Office and the end of her after-school roam through the corridors, Seto was already there, taking a phone call. Since the Head teacher had confiscated his mobile, this was not an unusual site. Seto was constantly getting urgent calls from work. And he had not yet brought his new mobile in because he wanted to drive the Headteacher to surrender to his need for one first. It was almost like a little challenge between the two. Seto hadn't noticed her, and she didn't bother to make herself known. He was obviously busy, and they'd have plenty of time later. She walked up to the small desk.

"Hi." She said to the receptionist who looked at her and sighed.

"You'll be wanting the Lost Property Box, won't you?" She asked resignedly as Anna nodded. "Hold on." She disappeared into a back room, leaving Anna to stand and wait.

On the other side of the room, Seto was getting quite exasperated. "Yes, I know… Don't you think I know that? Idiot… Well, we should do the same to him… I know that! It's just... Oh, never mind. Fine. Yes. I know. Yes. No, I'm not happy about it, but what do you suggest I do? No, I didn't think so." He hung up violently, cursing into what he thought was an empty room. "Damn." He muttered.

"You know," Anna said, scaring him. "Flitwick says that if you're not happy with something, you have to strive to change it."

"'Flitwick' is talking from his rear end." Seto snorted, recovering quickly. "Just who _is _Flitwick anyway?"

"Oh, the Shrink." Anna explained. "I just think he looks like Flitwick from the Harry Potter books."

Seto smirked to himself. Mokuba had rented all three of those movies, _and _guiltied his older brother into watching them with him. And now that Seto thought about it… The half-smile faded as quickly as it had come as his mind recalled the telephone call he'd had a moment ago.

"So, what was that all about?" She asked. "You sounded harassed. You didn't fire anyone, did you?" Of course, somewhere inside, she knew what was going to happen. But she didn't want it to. Just then, the secretary returned with the box, and, to Anna's relief, Yugi's present _had _been handed in after all. When she turned around, Seto had already left.

She caught up with him out on the by-now deserted playground, and for a second they stood in silence.

"You can't come tonight." She said, matter-of-factly, but unable to keep a touch of disappointment out of her voice. Seto's eyes flashed angrily.

"He's put the meeting back on." He said in severe annoyance. "He's just playing with me, trying to suss out how desperate I am to get this deal…" He clenched his fists. "And what's even more annoying is that I _am _desperate, and he knows it…"

"You'd better go, Seto." She sighed resignedly. "This is really important for you. Besides, wasn't this the one you missed before because of me? I couldn't do that again…"

Seto said nothing, but he wanted to. It wasn't her fault he had screwed it up last time. He should have been able to keep his worries under control…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_Seto was not up to his usual standards. He was distracted, looking out the window at the rain that was still coming down. He knew Azreal was out there somewhere, for she hadn't been at the Mansion that morning. Mokuba had mentioned someone named Anna Mitsan, and Seto couldn't imagine who else it would be if not Azreal, but he hadn't caught anything but the name. He wondered where Azreal had gone. Time was ticking away, she said herself that she couldn't stay away that long. He hoped she'd come back. She was probably mad at him for the night before. Seto shuffled uncomfortably. Guilt was not a feeling he was used to._

_He should go and look for her._

_But this was a very, very, important meeting. He just needed this contract, this deal to be done. He could sell Kaiba Corp. products in America. And once you get America and Canada, you can get Britain. Then Europe. Then you're pretty much world-wide._

_He couldn't blow this off._

_The Meeting could drag on forever. Azreal would die._

_Which would be her fault._

_But then she just wouldn't exist anymore. He was supposed to help her, after all._

_Seto groaned mentally. He was becoming way too nice. Next thing you knew, he'd be handing out flowers and twittering on about rainbows and friendship. He stood._

_"Mr Kaiba, I think you'll find our offer is perfectly reasonable." The American said, with a barely veiled threat. "We want Duel Monsters-related produce for sale overseas. And if you won't sell, we'll have to go somewhere else." Seto continued to the door, his heart sinking._

_"Give it to someone who wants it. Try Devlin and his poxy dice game. I'm sure he'll accept."_

_He was weeping inside._

_Later, Seto wouldn't believe what he had done. Not only had he refused the best offer he was ever likely to get, he'd offered it to Devlin on a plate._

Waaaaaaaaaaay_ too nice._

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-End Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

They stood there for a moment more, slightly enjoying being closer to each other then usual, silently discontent at the fact that moments like these were so rare.

"I'm going to have to go into the office and talk to my marketing directors." Seto sighed eventually. "And I'll probably have to go straight from the office to the restaurant. Which means I'll have to phone Susan again…" He sighed in irritation.

"Susan?" Azreal asked.

"Yeah." Seto replied. "A, what does she call herself? Child minder. Mokuba's school is seriously over-protective and they can't leave school on their own. And with Social Services on my back all the time, I can't leave Mokuba on his own for more then five minutes without them trying to put him into care, no matter how capable he is." He pulled a face, clearly showing _exactly_ what he thought of Social Services.

"I take it Mokuba doesn't like this 'Susan' person much…?" She ventured. Seto snorted.

"Understatement, and I don't blame him. She charges and extortionate amount of money for sitting in our living room and watching satellite Television." He got angrier as he spoke. "She's making a living from us, and she knows she can get away with murder because I can't find anyone else who'll 'watch' Mokuba when he's a so-called liability."

Anna said nothing. Considering the number of times the younger Kaiba had been kidnapped, she didn't blame the Child Minders one bit. She had to admit she found Mokuba a little scary- he obviously didn't trust her, and when she had to stay in a room with him, or talk to him, he seemed so hostile… It didn't help that she was so nervous around him, either. She wondered if this was how most people felt when they had to meet their partner's parents. It was then that she made a decision that even surprised her.

"I'll pick him up if you like." She offered. Seto looked at her as though she had gone mad. She shrugged. "I have no other plans, and I won't charge you anything- except maybe a quick call to my dad when I get to your house."

"Are you sure?" Seto wavered. "I mean, Mokuba doesn't exactly-"

"I know." She sighed nervously. "But I'll have to make my peace with him eventually, and besides, from the sounds of things, he'd rather have me then this Susan…"

Seto looked at her, slightly uncertainly, but saw that she was determined to do this. And he nodded his agreement.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Okay, so well done if you made it all the way down here! Will Az and Mokuba sort out their differences? Will Seto be able to redeem himself with the American business? What will Az do when the Social Workers come a-knocking? And, most importantly, what did she get Yugi for his birthday? Join me as soon as I manage to get it written for the third instalment in the second fic to **AfI!**


	3. Social Civilities

A/N: Well, what'dya know. I got the third chappie done today, despite it all. I'd love to say that it isn't quite as long as the last chapter, but in actual fact, it's a full page more. _(Sweatdrop) _None of these chapters are so long in my head…Heh. So, in this chapter, we experience Social Workers, Seto has a business meeting, and a very devious plot is implemented. Oh, and there is, fluff in this chapter. But, as those of you who've read **IMM** will know… the younger Kaiba can have very bad timing sometimes…

**Please Note: **Speaking in English will be in _Italics_.

Disclaimer: As usual, all credit to Kazuki Takahasi and due respect to Caroline 'Carmen' Curtis of 9E.

Review Responses:

Dragonlady222: I hate the girl's uniforms to... At least my school uniform isn't as bad as THAT. (Although, I do have towear a blazer next year... no skirts though, unlessyou want one)Anyway, I hope you're enjoying AfI, and I'm glad you like this so far- even if the updates are VERY long...

Willowwind: My school doesn't have a shrink, but we did have a councillor in once... Hmm, amusing story, but too long for here. Check your E-mail. And as for the 29 seconds... bear in mind that he had to write his signiture. And he probably has very elaborate hand writing. But, if you ever get chance to try, tell me- I wanna be there. And I'll try to be online at 2, but my house will be a bit hetic. We leave on Saturday togo on holiday for two weeks. I'll send you a post card.Yeah, so I don't know your address... I'lljust write 'Willowwind', and it'll reach you eventually._(Winks)_ I think, after our MSN conversation earlier, you'll enjoy this chapter...and you'll see what Imean about Hello Kitty watches.

And now, another insanely long chapter of **Wherever you Go!**

Three: Social Civilities

Mokuba sighed, wishing he could just go home. All the teachers, except one, obliged to stay till the last student left remained, but apart from that he was all alone. It wasn't uncommon for Seto to be late in picking him up, and a lot of the time, something came up and Seto's night off would be gone, and Susan would turn up. Of course, it would take her a while to get there, so he'd just have to wait and be patient. He couldn't wait till he went to the High school. At least they weren't so infuriatingly over-protective. He sighed deeply again, ramming his hands in his pockets and slumping against the front doors of the school.

"I think someone's coming…" The teacher with him said, squinting her eyes against the sun. Mokuba followed her gaze, narrowing his eyes against the glint of light. Soon a silhouette came into view, and it was immediately obvious it wasn't Seto. About a foot too short, to begin with. He gritted his teeth. That meant another night of fun with Susan. Huzzah.

Except, it wasn't Susan either… He recognised the messy brown hair, as opposed to the neat blond bob that Susan sported. He recognised the stripy jacket thrown over the pink school blazer, resplendent in it's various shades of red, yellow and orange. And he recognised Anna Mitsan. She walked towards them, leaping up the steps to the school's porch.

"Hey, Mokuba." She said, smiling. "Something came up for Seto at the last minute, and he asked me to come and pick you up. I hope you don't mind… "

"Fine." Mokuba grunted, beginning to walk down the steps. He still had his suspicions about the Mitsan girl, but he couldn't really make a scene about her now. Besides, what better way to put his suspicions to rest or perhaps confirm them then on his own turf?

He could vaguely hear Anna explaining to the teacher _exactly _who she was, and what was going on. She didn't seem to happy about it at first, but Mokuba certainly seemed to recognise her, and she was ready to go home anyway. A moment later, Anna was walking briskly across the playground to catch him up. They walked in silence towards the gate, and neither said a word until they reached the pavement outside.

"You're allowed to mind now." Anna said slowly, surprising him. "You're out the school grounds, your teacher's gone, and you're perfectly capable of walking home on your own…"

"I don't mind." Mokuba replied shortly. "I could use the company."

She sighed. "I don't know whether I'm glad you said that or not." She pondered as they walked down the road. "On the one hand, I know we need to sort out our differences…" Mokuba was grudgingly impressed. At least she didn't pussy-foot around the issues. "On the other hand, you scare me to death."

That one surprised him. She was _frightened _of _him_?

"You're dating my brother, but you're scared of _me?_" Mokuba asked indcredously. "How does that work out? Why are you scared by me?"

She laughed. "I guess it's because you're not like Seto, you'll show your feelings. And I know you don't like me, and I know Seto loves you more then anything, so I know that if I screw this up… well, I guess I'm scared that if you don't like me, I won't get to see Seto at all, because he'd choose you any day. I understand that, and I wouldn't blame him, but…" She trailed off.

Mokuba watched in surprise. The laughter had gone from her voice now, replaced with fear and sincerity, like she had almost forgotten who she was talking to. Was that just some very good acting? Or did she actually care about Seto so much she was willing to jump out on what was essentially the Front Line and watch him when she _knew _he didn't like her? He stubbornly decided to reserve judgement on that question, until he got some answers.

He knew that she was wrong about one thing though. Seto was crazy about this girl, and Mokuba would never ask him to give her up, only make her see what she really was, if she _was _up to something. He hoped she wasn't, he saw how happy Seto was, but he could not let that interfere with his mindset. He had to be suspicious of everything, could not be weak in his judgement. For once, Seto would not be able to see- or would refuse to see- if Anna was attempting to use him. And Mokuba would not let Seto get hurt.

Suddenly, Anna started to laugh wryly. "Goodness, I'm not doing a very good job! We're only five paces down the road, and already I'm telling all this stuff! That's really going to work…"

"I just don't know whether to believe you or not." Mokuba said bluntly. "There's something odd about you, and I'm keeping my eye on you till I'm sure you're not going to hurt Seto."

"Fair enough." She shrugged. That was it. She didn't try to defend herself, or shoot down his doubts about her. She seemed to know he had to do that for himself. But she wasn't offering any answers either.

"I know you're not human!" Mokuba blurted out in frustration. It was just a guess, a tingle in the back of his mind, but from the look on her face, he knew he had hit the nail on the head.

She looked shocked, but then made small applauding motions with her hands. "Well, you're far more perceptive then your brother, I'll give you that." She gasped.

Mokuba stopped walking, and fixed her with a stony glare that would have put Seto to shame.

"You're avoiding the subject."

"Please," She begged. "Let's not discuss it out here. Let's just get to your house, and I'll tell you everything."

Mokuba was naturally trusting and caring, he was just deliberately trying to find faults in Anna to protect his brother. But, his good-nature, and the promise of answers, was too strong in it's allure to refuse her that.

"Fine." He shrugged. "But I want to know."

"Would you believe that… I want to tell you?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Meanwhile, Seto's car was just pulling up outside the Kaiba Corp. main Head quarters.

"Would you like me to fetch your suit from the dry cleaners, sir?" The driver rasped as Seto climbed out, not waiting for the door to be opened for him. "You'll be needing that for your dinner-meeting tonight…"

"If you would, thanks." Seto said in a monotone. It should be a dinner _date_, not a dinner meeting. That was what he had wanted all along, after all, just to once,just _once_, go somewhere nice with his girlfriend without the interruption of work. But, realistically, he knew that would probably never happen as long as Kaiba Corp was still in business. Everyone was forever telling him to lighten up, but they didn't seem to realise that it was easier said then done. He sighed, glancing up at the sky. Heavy black clouds were moving in over head, threatening rain, and suiting his mood perfectly. The wind was getting stronger, bringing moisture with it, whipping through his hair. Which would mean he would have to spend ages getting his hair set into place as well. It wouldn't do to go to a meeting with less then perfect hair, now would it? It was hard enough to be taken seriously as a business man when he was so young, without the added bonus of wild-hair. He sighed in discontent. He knew Az wouldn't have minded… He began to walk inside, resigned to a night that, for a precious few short minutes, he thought he had gotten out of.

He comforted himself with the thought that however much trouble he had with the business man, Az would be having far more trouble with his younger brother.

He just didn't realise how much.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It started to rain when they were three quarters of the way up the drive way, which meant they still had a five minute walk to go. But, for once, Mokuba was glad of the downpour. It gave him the excuse to walk faster, without revealing how desperate for answers he was. When they finally arrived, he gallantly gave her time to hang up her jacket and blazer, and, after she politely asked his permission, to phone her dad and let him know that she would be home late, and _then _he let her sit down, before his anticipation would take no more.

"You're not human." He repeated. That had been a complete stab in the dark, but there was no need to let her know that. "So. Tell me."

And, after only a second's hesitation, she did, beginning with Muses and Humans and the Muses' exodus to Wherever, and then about her own personal story; about her mom and dad, and touching on her childhood, before telling him, in full, dreadful detail, the mess of a final mission in which she had met Seto. Then, to finish it, she explained how she had been waiting for Seto to tell him, feeling it wasn't her place and all that, but as he obviously wasn't going to any time soon…

It was some time later when she had finished. Almost two hours, in fact, as it was getting on for six. And, all the way through, Mokuba had said nothing, not passing comment, showing no sign of disbelief, or anything else. Then, finally, he looked up and met her eye.

"Just tell me one thing…" Mokuba asked quietly.

"What?" She asked, catching her breath, hardly daring to believe that he had actually believed her.

"Did you give Lira a good slapping?"

She blinked slightly, then grinned. "You bet I did. On several occasions."

"Then that's fine by me." Mokuba smiled back. "Can we get pizza for dinner?"

"It's your house." Az said, in slight disbelief. "And pizza has to be the best food ever."

"You know," Mokuba laughed. "Maybe you're not so bad after all…"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Meanwhile, Seto was inside his firmly locked office, finishing getting changed. He'd spent the last two hours talking to his Marketing Directors, who told him nothing he hadn't already known, and now he would be leaving as soon as he was changed. As he had told Az earlier, it was quite a drive and it never hurt to be there before your associate. He checked himself in the mirror, frowning at the black-and-white tux. He didn't feel right in it. It felt like he should be going to a funeral.

On the other hand, he needn't have worried about the prejudice that came with his young age. In this get up, he looked almost thirty. And, he suspected, the way tonight was shaping up, he'd look much older when he returned. Seto began to walk towards the door, checking his watch as he did so…

And gave a sigh of relief. He had nearly gone out wearing a fluorescent green _Hello Kitty _watch designed for tourists to one of the most important business meetings of his career- this was his second try at it, and he couldn't screw this deal up again.

He smiled as he switched the watch for a more conservative silver one. He should really stop wearing it- it wasn't good for his status, and it was a little too sentimental, but he couldn't help liking it. That first night she had returned to Earth, returned to him, he and Az had gone out for a walk, needing to clear their heads and get them round the new arrangement. So they had walked, eventually ending up at the jetty as the sun set over the harbour, and, more specifically, the bustling night market that surrounded it.

He visited the Night Market very rarely, but he had always loved it. The place was dead in the day time, but as the name would suggest, it came to life at night, with stalls illuminated by fairy lights, music, and street performers. Every night was a carnival at the Night Market. And when they had wandered into it, it had just been coming into life.

He smiled widely in spite of himself, as he had remembered Az's childish delight as they wandered round. That night he really _had _forgotten his troubles and just had fun. No-one had paid them any more heed then the other couples wandering round, and, all in all, it had been a wonderful night, and, now that he thought about it, the first, and only, proper date they'd had.

He hadn't realised quite how long they had been wandering around the labyrinth of stalls until the Nine PM dancers came out. And he hadn't told Mokuba where he was going, he'd just left.

Azreal had laughed when he expressed his surprise at the time, and stopped at one of the stalls, buying a tacky watch for a few yen from one of the stalls. At first, he had thought she wanted it for herself, but then, still laughing, she had given it to him, explaining that now he'd be able to make time for her. He had already had a perfectly good watch, and she knew it- but that wasn't the point of the gift. Shortly after, they had parted.

But not before they had shared a very nice moment together just out on the pier…

A banging on the door shattered Seto's memories with no remorse. "Mr Kaiba?" His secretary called. "Not to hurry you sir, but you really need to be leaving soon…"

Seto made no reply, silently vowing that he _would _take Az somewhere again soon, as much for his sake as hers, regardless of his work and responsibilities.

But that was not now. Right now, he had to go and get this nightmare over and done with.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Do you have a particular pizza place that you like to order from?" Anna asked, phone in hand.

"No, we like to change it as much as we can." Mokuba gave a devilish grin. "That way, they're not prepared for how long the drive way is and are late. And then we get discount."

She stared at him indcredously. "I'm not sure weather to be disgusted or impressed…" Shaking her head, she dialled a number and placed an order. Why they were waiting, she decided it was time to have a nose at what she was suspected was the main living room. She had never been in here before, she was sure of it; Seto always took her deep into the bowels of the mansion- where she was forever afraid of getting lost on the way back.

In the corner of the room, she spotted a stereo, and made her way over to it. She was disappointed to see that there were very few CDs there, and certainly not enough to reveal anything about the brothers' musical tastes. And none of those CDs reached her 'standards'.

"We're not very musical…" Mokuba explained, seemingly reading her mind.

"I'll say…" She grumbled. "No rock at all. This must be amended!" She disappeared out into the cavernous hall, finding her brown shoulder bag and digging through it. Mokuba blinked, wondering what she was doing. When she came back, she was carrying two CDs.

"Here we go." She said, not looking at the stereo as she slipped on of the CDs in. "Have a listen to this…"

She hit play.

Unfortunately, she didn't know how high the sound was on. a impressive drum roll echoed out the speakers like thunder, causing the room to vibrate. And then…

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Someone gave a high pitched keel. Finally getting her wits back, Anna sheepishly turned it off as fast as her reactions would allow.

"Wow…" Mokuba said, smothering a laugh as he removed his hands from his ears. "_What _was _that_?"

"Sorry…" She muttered. "Me and my friend did a CD swap for a few days… I must have put in hers by mistake." She took the CD out of the player and turned to grin at him. "That, Mokuba, was Heavy Metal. A band called Slayer. A song called _Angel of Death, _I believe…" She turned the volume down on the player before slipping the other CD in. "Now, _this _is Rock and Roll at it's best." She commented. "Who would have thought that such awesome songs would come out of such a damp, dreary little Island that's too close to France for it's own good… Oh well. Mokuba, this is a band from England, and the Masters of classic rock and roll."

"I thought Elvis was the 'King of Rock and Roll'." Mokuba teased. "And he was from the USA."

"True." She conceded. "But if the USA's Elvis was the King, the UK's Freddie Mercury was the Queen'."

"Freddie…?" Mokuba said bewildered. "Wouldn't he be a guy?"

"Yup." She nodded. "But that's what the band was called- Queen. And for good reason. He was about as straight as a circle and proud of it. With the most amazing voice you've ever heard."

"I've never heard of them." He wrinkled his nose. She looked at him in shock.

"You've never heard of Queen!" She yelped. "You probably have without realising it. They sung _Under Pressure! It's a Kind of Magic! Another one bites the dust! _They sung BOHEMIAN RAPHOSPY, for heaven's sake!"

Mokuba looked blank.

"Oh, c'mon…" She said. "We will Rock you? We all Live in a Yellow Submarine?"

Mokuba looked on in bewilderment. "I thought it was the Beatles that sung 'Yellow Submarine…'"

"Oh, thank goodness." She sighed, pressing play and flopping down on the sofa next to him. "There's hope for you after all…"

The song playing was very odd, seemingly involving a lot of people shouting 'Galileo'. But there was an incredible guitar solo, and she hadn't been joking when she talked about Mercury's voice talents.

And Mokuba liked it.

At last, the pizza arrived. He was a few minutes late, but Mokuba, feeling generous, paid the delivery guy in full.

They dug in without remorse, massacring the poor pizza. As they ate, Queen continued to play in the back ground. Anna visibly relaxed. Mokuba obviously wasn't going to chuck her out or anything.

"So…" He said, catching a stray piece of cheese. "Why is it that Seto calls you 'Az'? Is 'Anna' a fake name or something?"

She shook her head, swallowing a hunk of delicious pizza before answering. "No, Anna Mitsan _is _my human name. But the people in Wherever advised my mom to give me a Muse name- so I got Azreal."

"Azreal Mitsan?"

"No, Kiyoko." She explained. "My mom's maiden name."

"Azreal Kiyoko…" Mokuba repeated, trying it out. Then he shrugged. "I like it. Suits you better."

She laughed. "I think so to. But I'm not a Muse anymore, that's behind me now. So I guess you could just call it my nick-name."

They fell into a companionable silence, and then, finally, Azreal felt she had to ask.

"Mokuba…?" She asked, looking at the floor. "How come you… Well, why did you believe me so easily?"

He shrugged. "Well, Seto obviously does." He was trusting by nature, and now he had some explanations, he could sit back and find out just what kind of person this girl was. "But don't worry- I'm still keeping my eye on you. Seto rarely likes anyone, and if you're going to pull something, I want to do as much as I can to stop you hurting him!"

She laughed. "And I thought Seto was over-protective of you… So, do you trust me now? Just a little?"

"Well, I don't think you're that bad…" Mokuba shifted uncomfortably, feeling a little guilty. "And I do believe what you told me. I mean, it would sure explain why you were floating down my stairs." Was he wierded out? Oh, _yeah. _So maybe if he just pretended that everything- that she was- perfectly normal, he would deal better. At the moment, he'd just let the music wash around him, and try, for Seto's sake, to at least get one with this girl for one night despite his reservations.

"I'm glad to hear it." She sighed. "I'm glad you believed me so easily. Most people wouldn't."

"Well, I've seen plenty of weird stuff." Mokuba shrugged. She considered him for a moment, then smiled.

"Never, ever, become like your brother." She smiled.

He was confused. What an odd thing to say…

"Why?" Mokuba asked. "Don't you like him?"

Now it was Az's turn to be surprised. She turned to Mokuba to see if he was joking, but then realised he was perfectly serious.

"Listen, Mokuba," She said. "I know you're not quite sure what to think of me, but I know what you're like with other people, and I'll tell you now: I love Seto, but one's enough. There's not enough trusting and caring and friendly people in this world, and it would be terrible if we lost another one. Seto's done great things, but you don't have to be the same as him to do great things to. You're so happy and ready to like people Mokuba, don't you dare ever change, or you'll have me to answer to!"

Mokuba concentrated on his final slice of pizza. There wasn't much he could say to that.

"I used to do this with my sisters…" She said a moment later, breaking the silence. "Whenever we were all in town, we'd eat a pizza together, and watch a film… We didn't get to see much of each other when we were all working, you see…"

Mokuba grinned. "Well, if it's movies you want…" He pulled a remote out of seemingly nowhere, hit a button, and the entire wall of the room scrolled back, revealing a very comprehensive collection of DVDs and the biggest TV Az had ever seen, including in cinemas.

"Woah!" She screamed in delight "It's _huge!" _She leapt off the sofa to see exactly what DVDs they had. It was much better then the CDs…

"Pick one…" Mokuba prompted, turning the stereo off.

She considered carefully, a look of extreme concentration on her face. There were quite a few films she had never seen before, but you could never beat the classics…

The familiar words of _A New Hope _were just scrolling through the galaxy, glowing yellow, the unforgettable _Star Wars _theme playing in the background when everything started to go downhill. They settled down to watch, getting comfy.

Just then, the buzzer went, proving that someone was trying to get through the security gates at the bottom of the drive way. Mokuba went out to the intercom in the hall to find out who it was.

A moment later, he re-appeared in the living room, looking pale as he looked around in despair.

"What's the matter?" Az asked instantly, wondering what would have scared the boy so.

"It's the Social Workers…" Mokuba said, sounding worried. "I know they think they're doing what's best for me, but they're always looking for a reason to take me away from Seto… and if they find I'm here without a registered childminder, and that I'll be here alone for most of the night…"

Azreal stood up in determination. "Don't worry- I'm not about to let that happen."

Mokuba looked at her uncertainly. "But they don't know who you are, and you don't-"

"Mokuba!" She said desperately. "I can help you, if you'll let me! I know you have doubts about me, but please, just trust me!"

Mokuba looked at her. His logical mind knew that the Social workers would not just whisk him away that night, that there would be plenty of time to make up for whatever happened now when Seto came back, but his irrational mind was still scared. And if she had a plan that would not allow them to find any fault in anything…

"Alright." He said.

She left the room. "Right. It'll take them five minutes to get up the driveway, but we don't have long. Grab those pizza boxes, and show me where your kitchen is!"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Seto glared at his plate. It wasn't that the food was particularly bad, in fact, the meal was the best he'd had in a long time. It was just that he didn't want to be here, and he certainly did not want to have to eat a meal with this man before they could get down to business. But, if that's the way the man wanted to work… He had Seto at a disadvantage, and the guy knew it. So his rules went.

_"This is a nice restaurant…" _He said, deliberately speaking English to annoy Seto. The CEO of Kaiba Corp always used the native language of the country he was visiting, regardless of how pitiful his language skills were. Most of the time, he took a translator. But at least he _tried._ And at least his English was good enough to get by on now…He knew this man spoke fluent Japanese, he had last time they had met, when he had been sucking up to Seto and not vice-versa. But now, he was deliberately making the young CEO struggle. _"At least it serves proper meat. Everything comes with rice and involves fish in this country!"_

_"I'm glad you like the dog." _Seto replied innocently. He had never met anyone from outside Asia yet who wasn't fussy at the idea of eating a dog. He didn't know why they thought it was any worse then eating a pig or cow, but he knew they hated.

The chefs at the restaurant knew that to, and, with a lot of business meetings, just like this one, they served no dog at all. But this jerk didn't have to know that. Seto grinned mentally as the American man pushed his plate away from him.

"Ah, yes, well…" He flustered, then switched back to English. _"Shall we get down to business?"_

_"You haven't finished your meal." _Seto couldn't resist pointing out. _"The chef will be insulted." _He looked around as though checking no-one was listening, before leaning forward and whispering. _"Last time, a British man did not clear his plate, and he returned to London to find…" _He pretended to be trying to remember the words.

"To find…?"

"_His family were, _ano_… in the Thames. And they were not swimming."_

The man's throat quivered as he swallowed visibly. Seto leaned back and raised an eyebrow.

_"Are you going to finish your meal?" _He asked. _"I hear it's very good…"_

"_Ah, um… yes…It's delicious…" _Seto watched, feeling triumphant as the man pulled the plate of 'dog' back towards him and continued to try and choke it down. Seto smiled slightly as he watched. He may not be in full control of the business side of things, but he was still the biggest jerk ever.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When they reached the kitchen, Azreal quickly pulled the kettle out off the counter, filling it with water before putting it on the highest setting, willing it to boil quickly. Then she took the pizza boxes, now empty, from Mokuba, and shoved them into the rubbish chute, igniting the oven as she passed it.

"What are you-" Mokuba began to ask, but she interrupted, unceremoniously tipping a cup of water over his head. He spluttered. "What are you _doing?_!" He yelled.

"You said you were going to trust me!" She called. "Now, go and put your pyjamas on."

"What?" He asked. "But it's only seven thirty…"

She shot him a look that would have given Seto a run for his money, and he left to do as she said without further arguments.

"Bring a game back down with you!" She called. "Snakes and Ladders or something! And hurry!"

Mokuba dashed upstairs, despairing. The room stank of take-out pizza, a movie frozen on the screen, and rock and roll in the CD player. That wouldn't look like a, quote, 'Firm and structured environment' for a child…

When he returned back down stairs, feeling silly in his pyjamas, his hair damp, and a chess set under his arm, Azreal was nowhere to be seen in the kitchen. However, the counters were wet, as if they had just been wiped, and the air smelt faintly of lemon and disinfectant. She must have wiped the counters down, but why? They weren't dirty. And the dishwasher was on as well, but it had to be washing nothing- they had used no plates or cutlery or anything! And the oven, though now turned off, still had heat lingering around it. How curious… The kettle had finished boiling now, and a teapot was now sitting calmly on a sheet of kitchen roll, to catch any drips falling from the spout.

"Anna…?" He called uncertainly, and heard her answer from the living room. He went in. There were two mugs of tea on the small table in the centre of the room, and she was hastily pushing the DVD back into the rack before sliding the wall back to hide it. "What are you doing?"

"Did you get the game?" She asked, offering no explanation.

"Um, I got Chess." Mokuba replied, holding it out to her. He had never played a game of Snakes and Ladders in his life, and he certainly didn't own a set. He had played Chess before he could walk, (Although, at that point, he tended to chew the pieces more then actually play with them) and that was about the nearest thing to a board game in the house.

Anna's worried frown deepened. "Okay, fine, but I have no idea how to play… Set it up, okay? They'll be here in a moment."

He did so hurriedly, and with the quick ease of experience as she sorted the black pieces from the white for him. He had just finished when the door bell rang, and Anna left to answer it, hesitating in the doorway.

"I've seen Seto pull far more elaborate schemes then this," She said slowly. "And, from what I've heard, you are forever getting one over on him. I'm sorry there's no time to explain, but I'm sure you'll cope…"

She took a deep breath, and went to answer the door as Mokuba's heart pounded in his chest.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_"Now then…" _He said, wiping his mouth and trying not to gag at the idea that he had just eaten a dog. _"While waiting for dessert is usually the time to have business, is it not?"_

_"It is." _Seto agreed, as their table was cleared. _"I'm sure you're aware why I asked you here tonight."_

He gave a deep rumbling laugh. _"I think I am, Mr Kaiba. You have finally come to your senses about giving us the rights to sell your products abroad. I don't blame ya for trying again, even though you really cocked up last time." _He smirked at Seto. _"What was wrong the last time? Did your hormones get in the way, boy?"_

Seto scowled. _"I may be young, but my company still has a inner GDP rate almost twice the size as yours. I believe your company is failing, and Kaiba Corp products may just save you."_

It was the American's turn to scowl. _"So the school-boy's done his homework…" _He sighed. _"Enough banter. You probably remember that deal you blew off last time, probably haunts your dreams, I expect. Well, same deal, here's what I'll offer you…" _He slid a small piece of white paper across the table. Seto raised an eyebrow as he picked it up. Why couldn't these men just name their price aloud? Why all the messing about.

_"This is half the price of last time." _Seto commented, screwing up the figure. _"Have my services suddenly dropped in value?"_

_"No. You're just more desperate." _

_"As are you. It all depends on who is more desperate- you, or I."_

_"I'm willing to risk it." _

Seto maintained eye contact for a moment. He really didn't like this man. His company was large and still rich, despite it's falling share prices. The CEO was arrogant and rather stupid. Flipping the small piece of paper over, he pulled out a pen and wrote something.

_"New deal." _He said, sliding it over. _"For the same price you offered me a few weeks ago." _He stood up. _"I'll leave you to think about it." _He shook the man's hand, who did not look up, still staring, all agog, at the paper Seto had given him.

_"Are you mad, boy!" _He called after Seto, startling some of the other diners. Seto, pretending not to have heard, left the restaurant.

The man stared at the paper again, making sure it said what he thought it did, his hand shaking slightly. Kaiba Corp must be really desperate if this is what they were offering. Oh well. No skin off his nose.

He gathered his coat, and left before they could bring him dessert. He'd leave it over the weekend, then, on Monday, he would really get the ball rolling. He climbed into his chauffeured car, and drove home, excitement coiling in his stomach.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The two social workers were ones Mokuba knew well, Miss Stevens and Mr Watkins. Nice people, by all accounts, and you could tell they genuinely wanted to help kids in need- they just found it hard to understand that Mokuba wasn't _in _need. They couldn't see how someone as 'young' as Seto could be a responsible guardian for them both. They didn't understand that Seto was a lot of older then his age.

And they were also rather surprised when a young girl opened the door.

"Good evening." She said politely, waving them inside. "You must be from Social services…Come inside, out of the rain…"

"That's right." Miss Stevens nodded, allowing Anna to take their coats as she introduced herself and her partner. "We're just here to check up on Seto and Mokuba… are they here?"

"I'm afraid Seto got called away to a meeting at the last minute, and I offered to help out- he certainly wasn't expecting you to turn up when he agreed!" She lead the way into the living room, and Mokuba looked up at them from where he was kneeling on the floor, studying a Chess board. "Mokuba was just teaching me how to play Chess." Anna explained. "But I'm hopeless… I don't know the difference between a King and a… um… Prawn!"

"Pawn." Mokuba corrected automatically, standing up to greet the care workers. Anna frowned when she saw him.

"Oh, Mokuba, I thought I told you to go and get dressed." She tutted. "Go on, now!" As he began to head out the room, looking shamed faced, Anna turned back to the workers. "I'm sorry… He was playing Rugby last thing, and you know what kids are like… I had to send him straight upstairs to take a shower as soon as we got in, while I was getting the oven pre-heated. We didn't think there was any point in getting a set of clothes dirty, so…"

"It's quite alright!" Miss Stevens insisted. "It's alright, Mokuba, don't worry!"

"Thanks…" Mokuba mumbled, coming back to the living room. Anna wondered where he had gone, seeing as he had come back in the oppisite direction to where the stairs were, but she didn't question it.

"Well, have a seat." Anan gestured. "I'll bet you'd like a cup of tea… We have a pot in the kitchen. How do you like it?"

"I'll come and help." Mr Watkins offered as Miss Stevens quietly shut the door to the living room so she and Mokuba could talk in private. And, Anna realised, she'd be talking to Mr Watkins in the kitchen…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_In the Living room…_

"I'm sorry to interrupt your evening, Mokuba…" Miss Stevens said quietly, as Mokuba sank into the chair opposite her. "I hope you don't mind at all."

"It's no problem." Mokuba tried to smile. "I think you scared Anna though… she's probably worried that you're going to arrest her, or something…"

Miss Stevens gave a sunny laugh. "I wouldn't worry about that. She seems nice."

"She is." Mokuba replied, surprising himself when he was being sincere.

"A friend of yours?"

"And of Seto's." Mokuba added.

"So you don't mind that she's looking after you?"

Mokuba suppressed a shrug. He had to make it seem like he was having the best time of his life. So he grinned instead. "It's great. We have a lot of fun!"

"So you don't mind being left with her…?" Miss Stevens prompted.

"Nope!" Mokuba shook his head vigorously. Then, to make it realistic, he added "I mean, it's not the same as when Seto's home, but it's the next best thing!"

"I see…" Miss Stevens said slowly. Well, Mokuba certainly seemed happy enough. Now it was down to Mr Watkins to see what the girl was like herself, and if she was responsible enough to be looking after a child…

She sniffed appreciatively. The room smelt wonderful. Evidently there was some kind of an air freshener somewhere… She'd have to ask what it was, and if it was terribly expensive…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_In the Kitchen…_

Anna poured out another two cups of tea nervously as Mr Watkins brought the milk from the fridge. She glanced up at the clock above the counter, wondering why they were working at this time of night anyway. It was almost quarter to eight. Seto have finished the starters by now, and would probably just be receiving the main course. And if she had managed to go… A sigh of discontent escaped her lips.

"Is something wrong?" Mr Watkins asked.

"No, no, I'm fine!" She insisted, smiling. "How do you like your tea?" She held her hand out for the bottle of milk whilst pulling the sugar out from one of the cupboards. While Mokuba had been up getting changed, she had been exploring the cupboards to find the teabags, and now she was glad she had as it helped her look efficient. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the tumble drier was on. Mokuba must have put it on, to make it look like his uniform had been washed and was in the process of being dried. What ingenuity.

"It's alright, I'll do it." He replied, gently stepping around her to get to the mugs. He was taking his time, she noticed.

"If you don't mind my asking…" He said in a friendly tone of voice. "Who exactly are you?"

Anna slapped her forehead, mentally kicking herself. All this effort, and she hadn't introduced herself! She proceeded to explain how she was a friend of Seto's, and then they went to rejoin Mokuba and Miss Stevens in the living room.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The two social workers left, driving away in the car. They spoke to each other briefly on the evening. Anna had seemed like a perfectly pleasant and responsible girl, and Mokuba certainly seemed happy enough both in her company and in general. It was odd, though. They had never imagined that anyone would be able to befriend the ice-cold CEO, but this girl apparently had. And she obviously thought that he loved his brother more then anything.

They would keep and ever watchful eye on the Kaiba situation, as always, but deep down, they both felt assured that another visit would not be necessary until the law-demanded day in six months time.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Inside the Kaiba mansion, Anna and Mokuba collapsed with relief onto the sofas, and sat there, recovering for sometime. Suddenly, Anna screamed loudly, eventually letting it simmer down into a groan as she sank further into the sofa. Then she sighed deeply, closing her eyes. "Oh, I've been dying to do that the entire night…" She cracked an eye open and glanced at him. "I bet it was worse for you though. I'm sorry I had to patronise you like that… you had some superb acting by the way."

"Thanks." Mokuba answered. Anna studied him.

"You're stressed." She said. "I can see. You're all tensed up." She twirled her finger in a small circle. "Twisted tighter then a spring. Go on, scream, it'll make you feel better."

"Um, I don't think I need to…" Mokuba began, but she held a hand up.

"Aw, go on. Trust me, it'll make you feel good. And I know you've been dying to all night…"

Mokuba finally relented and screamed long and loud, and she joined in after a moment. When they had to stop for threat of suffocation, they collapsed into giggles.

"You're right." Mokuba laughed. "I do feel better. I can't believe what you did to them! You totally fooled them!"

"So did you," She pointed in mock-severity. "And now, to more important things!" She sat bolt upright. "I believe we were watching _Star Wars _on your stupidly-oversized TV!"

And so, they did.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"We're here, sir." Redge called from the front of the car, shaking his boss from his thoughts. "I'll just put the car in the garage, and I'll be off home if that's alright…"

"It's fine." Seto said absently. "Thanks for working so late."

Redge smiled as he drove around to the garage. He had not seen much of Mr Kaiba's lady friend apart from that first morning when he had driven them to school, but she was working miracles. His wife would never believe him if he told her Mr Kaiba had been thanking him for what he did recently. Overtime pay _and _a thank you. Whatever kind of night Mr Kaiba had had, Redge had had a brilliant one.

Seto had not had a good night. The dinner had gone on far longer then he had intended, and now it was almost eleven at night, meaning he had been through more then three hours of hell. And he wasn't sure if he had done the right thing…

Seto stood on the porch for a moment, letting the still-falling rain drench him. It had been so hot and humid recently, and he was in such a foul mood, he was glad of the downpour. No. He _had _made the right decision. A hard one, but the right one. He pulled out his keys and went up to the front door.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

He expected to enter into a deserted house- Mokuba would probably be in bed, and Az would've surely gone home by now- but instead, he could hear the television playing a movie of some sort in the living room. _Men in Black, _from the sounds of it, one of Mokuba's favourites. He entered the room to investigate, and actually smiled when he beheld the sight before him.

Mokuba had fallen asleep on the sofa even as the film continued to play in front of them, sleeping peacefully, his shaggy black hair falling loosely over the arm of the sofa as he had tipped over. But he wasn't the only one. Az was fast asleep, lost to the world, at the other end of the settee, her glasses riding up her face. She had partly reverted to her muse form, ghostly shadows of only-half materialised wings draped over her side, the tips just reaching down to her stomach. Seto was sorely tempted just to leave her there, not wanting to disturb her, but didn't think her dad, however laid back, would take too kindly to her spending the night there. Gently, he leant over and shook her.

"Az…" He hissed, so as not to wake Mokuba. "Wake up…"

"Urrghmmph…" She mumbled, as she always did, shifting slightly as she woke up, smiling when she saw Seto.

"You're soaking wet…" She commented, climbing to her feet.

"Yes, that's because it's raining." He informed her wryly.

"Don't be smart with me when I've just woken up…" She grumbled, hugging him despite the fact that he was wet.

"I take it you two had a busy night…" He laughed, as she was practically dropping off in his arms.

"Mmm…" She said. "The social workers turned up…"

"What!" Seto demanded, and she looked up at him, smiling sleepily.

"Don't worry, we took care of it…" She assured him. "How did you get on?"

"As badly as expected." She felt his chest rise as he sighed. "I wish it had been you there…"

"Don't start." She whispered back, resting her tired head on his shoulder.

"We hardly get any time together…" He pointed out. "That would bother most girls."

"I'm not 'most girls'," She replied. "And you're not 'most guys'… we're perfect for each other, see?" She felt him laughing quietly, a rumble in his chest.

"You are too nice." He said. "You'd never survive in business."

"This isn't business. This is the Game of Life. And I don't understand the rules." She pouted.

"I know one thing you got right." Set smiled, kissing the top of her head. Goodness, this girl had an effect on him. He could feel his heart pounding, and at that moment, he wanted nothing more then just to hold her there forever.

"Seto…?" Mokuba mumbled blearily from the depths of the sofa. Az pulled away from Seto's warmth reluctantly. "How did it go…?"

"Fine." Seto replied. "But I'll tell you in the morning. Time for bed."

"Okay…" Mokuba agreed reluctantly, but too tired to argue. "Night, Seth, Night Az…"

He disappeared upstairs.

"Seth…?" Seto asked Azreal curiously.

"Yeah, we decided your name was too long…" She giggled. "But 'Set' didn't suit you, so we decided to shorten it to 'Seth'…"

"May I ask _why?_"

"Because Seth is a cool name."

"That wasn't what I meant."

"Shut up and kiss me so I can go home." She grumbled.

"Oh, don't let me hold you up…" Seto replied in mock indigence.

"Not at all…" She said graciously, moving closer to him.

Of course, it was just a few seconds after this that Mokuba's sleepy brain remembered something.

"Hey Az…" He said, walking down the stairs. "You forgot…" He registered the scene in front of him. "Your…CD…" He kicked himself for the bad timing. "Sorry." He offered lamely.

"That's alright." She said, her eyes laughing as she pulled away from Seto again. "Um… Keep it Mokuba."

"Are you sure?" Mokuba asked.

"Sure." She smiled. "I'll call you tomorrow, Seto…" She left the building.

Seto stood, slightly embarrassed as Mokuba grinned at him. "I'll get you back for that one…One day, when you're about to get a girl, I'll ruin it for you…" He promised, rolling his eyes. "So, you like her now?"

"She told me more then you would." Mokuba pouted, going back upstairs to bed. "But yeah, I like her… Now then," He turned round to face his older brother, who was still standing in the hall. "I think you better go and catch her up. You're not going to let her walk home all alone in the dark at eleven o'clock at night, are you? It might be dangerous…"

Seto shook his head in exasperation. "Good night, Mokuba."

But just as Mokuba entered his room and pulled back the covers of the bed, he heard the front door click shut.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Heeheehee… join me for chapter four, in witch we find out about Seto's mysterious deal, it's Yugi's birthday, and… lots of other stuff! And the unveiling of my new PAGE BREAK! WHEEEEEEEEE!


	4. The Penny Drops

A/N: Well, another day, another chapter. My ICT teacher would kill me. RSI much? However! This chapter isn't as long as the others, simply because that was a good place to end it. Oh, not to mention Vomit alerts and a sudden power cut… which happened just as I was about to move the mouse to click save. D'oh. Thank goodness for MS Word's retrieval powers… It's a pretty good program, once you figure out how to turn off the d'arving paper clip. Anyhoo, it occurred to me recently that the character's birthdays are pretty prominent in this fic, so, for future reference, here is a list, which I found on YGO Fanstuff Paradise:

Joey: 25th January

Duke: 28th February

Tristan: 19th April

Yugi: 4th June

Téa: 18th August

Ryou: 2nd September

Seto: 25th October

And one of my own: Azreal's birthday is the 5th of November- Bonfire Night!

Moving on:

Review Responses:

Dragonlady222: Heh. Blazer. White shirt. Trousers or skirt. And a tie. Bleah. And they will be great friends... heeheehee...

Willowwind: They weren't actually EATING the dog. He was winding him up because... Well, he reacted like you did. _(Manic grin) _And Seto didn't ALMOST kiss her, he was in the process of, when Mokuba... inturrupted. Heh. Then they were allembarresed. Awwwwwwwwww...Bohemian Rhapsody! I love that SONG! _I see a little silloeto of a man, scarmoosh! scarmoosh! will you do the fandango! **SUDDEN BOLT OF LIGHTNING, VERY VERY FRIGHTNING THING!**Galileo! _Annnnnnnnnd... so on.

Disclaimer: Duh.

Four: The Penny Drops

_June_

"Hey…" Joey called. "Hey! Earth to Azreal!" Still no response. "Hey!" He clicked his fingers loudly in her face, causing her to tip back in shock. Those around grabbed the chair quickly, before she went over completely, and she sat up sheepishly.

"Sorry…" She murmured apologetically. "I was miles away…"

"I'll say." Yugi smiled, looking over her shoulder to see what she had been doodling so absently. He shook his head. "You sure do like sheep, Anna…"

Well, that was true. Over the few months they had known her, they had seen more cartoon sheep then ever before. She had sheep pencils, sheep pencil cases, sheep notebooks… she even had a pair of socks. By now, she was infamous all around the school as 'The girl with the sheep fetish'. And now, while they had been talking, she had been doodling as she thought. She was a doodler by nature; the second her mind wandered, so did her pen or pencil. And, predictably, she had been drawing sheep.

"No," She laughed. "They're just easy to draw…"

"Wow!" Téa gasped, pointing. "I like this one! It's so cute!"

"He's my favourite to…" Anna smiled at her. The sheep was the only one on the paper that had been shaded in, to indicate black fur. The other oddity about it was that it was sitting as a dog would, and had small white wings coming out of his back.

"Yes, well…" Yugi interrupted. "Not that Anna's sheep aren't nice, but Sir will be in here in a second, and I was trying to ask her something…"

"Uh, yes?" Anna asked.

"It's my birthday in a few days time, on the fourth." Yugi explained. "All these guys are coming over to celebrate, and I wondered if you'd like to join us."

"Really?" She blinked. "Even after the… disaster at Tristan's?"

"Of course!" Yugi said, blinking in surprise.

"We've said before, that wasn't your fault." Tristan said graciously. "Forget about it."

"We'll just have to remember that you can't drink coke." Yugi assured her. "It's probably not a good idea if you disappear in front of Grandpa. We might be able to convince Tristan's family that it was their imagination, but not him…"

Anna winced at the memory. "Don't remind me…" She had finally discovered why Coca Cola was not available in Wherever. Unlike humans, it didn't make you hyper. No, it made you de-materialise.

"No Coke for me." She agreed. "But, yes, I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"She's crushing on him…" Téa whispered.

"No way!" Joey yelled as the others looked on.

"Listen!" Téa insisted. "Didn't you see her face when Kaiba didn't turn up this morning? She's worried!"

"No way." Joey repeated stubbornly. "What would a nice girl like her want with a jerk like him? It would never happen!"

Ryou sat back and rolled his eyes. He'd figured this out back in April. "Stranger things have…" He muttered under his breath. But his comment, if heard, was ignored.

"Whatever, Joey." Téa sighed, blowing a strand of hair from her face. "I'm sure there's some good in him somewhere, but…" She sighed again. "I don't think she knows what she's getting into. That guy doesn't want anyone. I'll talk to her." She promised.

"Here's your chance." Ryou said mildly. "Here she comes."

Anna joined them, and drifted in and out of the conversation, mainly about Yugi's party that night, as break time passed.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

That day, in G&T class, everyone was doing pretty much what they always did. The first lesson she had actually spent in the room, trying to ignore the Muses who were shooting her dirty looks, Anna had sat with Ryou, and the two had got bored out of their skull even as they listened to the band practise in the corner.

There was a band for each year group, Ryou explained, and every year there would be a big talent competition on the last day before Christmas, which anyone could compete in, but it was mainly between the bands for each year. Unfortunately, their band wouldn't be competing this year because-

At that point, Ryou had been interrupted when one of the band members, a boy named Craig, who had spotted them watching and, as they didn't have a competition to rehearse for, offered to teach them how to play guitar- an offer that the two had taken up eagerly, just for something to do.

Ryou had quickly proved to be a natural, his hands totally at home on the fret board. Anna, however, had proved to be incredibly bad at it. Eventually, she had thrown her hands up in defeat and gone back to spending an hour a week idling it away.

She was deep in thought as usual, barely looking at what she was drawing, when Ryou excused himself from Craig for a moment, and went to talk to her.

"Wings looks miserable today." He commented, using the nick name that had quickly developed for Anna's trademark winged, black, furry, sheep. It was true, today his wings were drooping, and he looked rather down. "I hope he cheers up for Yugi's party this evening."

"He will." Anna said, not saying anything more.

"Just watch out for Téa…" Ryou warned, before rejoining the band.

"Huh?" Anna asked in bewilderment. "Téa? Why?"

But Ryou had already picked up the spare guitar, and they were beginning another song.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Anna was walking out of school that day, after yet another trip to the lost property. She walked rather briskly- the chances were that if Seto wasn't in school, someone would have to pick Mokuba up.

Ever since that first time, Anna had been a common fixture at Mokuba's school. Mokuba liked her better then Susan, and she liked Mokuba to. As she had left Seto in doubt about: 'Seto, you have one great brother. If he were somehow our age, I'd dump you and go out with him instead.' Of course, she had been joking, and Seto knew it, but she honestly didn't mind walking Mokuba back. His school was on her way home anyway, so it wasn't out of her way. Some nights she would just take him as far as where their paths split, but often she'd go up to the house with him and hang out for an hour or so. However, she had better hurry down the deserted corridors- Mokuba's school let out the dame time as theirs, so she was already late.

Unfortunately, she was about to become even later. Just as she passed the girls toilets, the door swung open and she was dragged forcibly inside.

After she got over the initial surprise of the attack, Anna looked at the offenders in bewilderment. "Téa? What is this?"

She heard the door creak closed and turned to see another girl standing in front of it.

"Mai?" She said, utterly confused now. "Do you even _go _to this school?"

"That's not the point." Mai said sternly. "Téa called me at lunch. We need to talk to you, Azreal."

"What about?" She blinked. She had heard the conversations that generally happened in ladies toilets, and she didn't really want to be involved in one.

"Seto Kaiba." Téa said deliberately.

"Oh." Anna replied, leaning against the sink. So, the cat was out of the bag at last…

"Listen," Téa said slowly. "We know you can't control who you have a crush on- and hey, who would blame you for liking him?- but Seto Kaiba is _not _a good choice, at least not now."

"That is," Mai amended. "Basically, he's completely off-limits."

Anna blinked in confusion, then held back a laugh. Hadn't these two realised that they were…? Did they just think that she…?

"I know there's good in him somewhere." Téa pleaded desperately. "But it won't come out till he's ready. You should just forget him."

Mai snorted. "Face it, he's just a complete jerk. Give him half a chance, and he'll break your heart."

"We just don't want you to get hurt by wanting something you can't get…" Téa added softly. "There's no point even trying. You'll just get hurt."

"Don't you think he's been a bit more mellow recently, though…?" Anna hinted.

"Well…" Téa began uncertainly, before Mai cut her off.

"Phfft." She snorted. "Who cares! The guy's a jerk, and he always will be. So there's absolutely no point crushing on him." As always, blunt and straight to the point. Anna decided it was time to put them out of their misery.

"Actually," She said conversationally. "We've been going out since I got here." She began to head out the door, but couldn't resist a parting shot. "And he's a _really _good kisser." She waited for the words to sink in. "Well, see ya later, at Yugi's."

And she left them standing there in shock.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She was almost at the doors when she saw his unmistakable figure in the corridor.

"Seto!" She called. He looked up, smiling widely when he saw her. She quickened her pace and met him. "I was just talking about you." She laughed.

"Oh?"

"Uh-huh." She nodded seriously. "It seems my friends have figured us out."

"The penny has dropped." Seto rolled his eyes. "Well, at least I can get away with kissing you in public now."

He did so, right in the middle of the hallway. Okay, so there was no-one around, but someone could have walked by at any moment.

"You're in an unusually good mood today." She laughed. "Did something nice happen today? I thought you'd abandoned me…"

"I had to come back and collect something." He explained. "But I just couldn't get out of the office today. The deal is done."

"The one with that American guy?" She blinked. He hadn't said much about it before.

"The very same." Seto confirmed. "He brought the Duel Disks."

Azreal pulled away from him in shock. Seto's arms fell uselessly to his sides. "You _sold _the Duel Disks!" She screamed in horror. "But why! You put your whole heart into developing that system!" Although she had no way of telling at the time, she was not the only racked off with Seto for this move… "I don't believe you, Seto! Why is it all about money! Does nothing have sentimental value to you!"

"Az, wait!" Seto replied calmly. "You haven't heard the full story-"

She snorted. "You sold your Disks, Seto! What else is there to it? Don't you realise that they'll just ruin them! They'll…they'll… Make them available in a wide range of fluorescent colours, or something! And they'll add all sorts of silly gimmicks like radios and toothbrushes and things! Do you not realise what you've done!"

"Oh, shut up." Seto said tolerantly. "I'm glad you're so concerned, but do you honestly think I'm going to lay back and watch them ruin for the system _I _made famous?"

"But you…"

"Listen." He said. "The deal says that he does not own the Disks till January. Until then, I can do what I like with them." He smirked. "And if he thinks that _I _need _his _help to sell my products abroad, he is sadly mistaken. Tomorrow morning, now that he can't get out of it, my Disks will start to ship across the world, and be sold at well below the RRP. And, come December…" He smirked more. "Well, I might suddenly feel very generous. A Christmas give away, free disks for anyone who hasn't already got one, world wide. By the time he gets his clammy mitts on my Disk,

no-one will need one. He just gave me a whole lot of money for no good reason. Which is why I had to find someone so _awful _to pull it on…"

Az shook her head, laughing. "You are so devious…" She commented, half laughing, half sighing. "Won't it cost you money, though? Selling them cheap?"  
"It's not all about money." He mimicked. "Some things have sentimental value…"

She laughed again, and he joined in quietly. "There's just one thing I'm confused about…"

"What?" Seto asked.

"Why sell the Disks at all?" She wondered. "And what are you going to do now?"

"Duel Monsters is a sinking ship." Seto said, and she could hear the excitement in his voice. "Don't you see it? It's losing popularity. And if I don't branch out before it crashes, my company will go down with it."

"Heh." She smiled. "I knew you'd have an ulterior motive…"

"Robots." Seto said suddenly.

"Excuse me?" She blinked.

"Robots." Seto repeated, sounding excited. "That's where Kaiba Corp's going now- Holograms are over, it's been done, they won't get any better, despite what some fools think. But robots… Unexplored territory. No-one's done it yet, no-one knows how intelligent they can get, but it's only a matter of time- and when they do, Kaiba Corp will be leading the way. We already have robots with set programs, in factories and the like, so it can only be a matter of programming, finding a way to have an infinite number of variables in one machine. I've already been looking at it, and I don't think there's a way to do it with any modern software, but I think that maybe if you go right back to binary coding it might _just _be possible. Of course, if we tried to program an infinite number of variables, we'd be fiddling with zeros and ones forever, but if there was some way to link them all together to one code, on switch, so they all turned each other on and off, were all connected, and it was a chain; or if we could somehow program everything into a single dependant that _itself_ was infinite…Of course, even if you managed to program everything into it, it would still be a program. If there was some way that we didn't have to, some way that we can get it to make assumptions on what it knows, someway to get it to _learn_… It would just be a matter of finding a way for it to process unknown data so…"

He trailed off, noticing Az's blank look. "Never mind. Sorry." He concluded.

She laughed. "No need to apologise, it's nice seeing you excited about anything. Thanks for that little insight into your mind there…" She grinned, hooking his arm. "C'mon, let's go get that brother of yours… I have to be at Yugi's in a few hours, so we'd better enjoy what time we've got…"

And so, they did, whatever Seto had come back to pick up forgotten about.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Téa and Mai stood in the toilets, aghast.

"Oh man…" Téa groaned. "How embarrassing…"

"There was no way we could have known…" Mai said half-heartedly. "And she seemed to find it funny, not insulting."

"Yes, but-" Téa began, only to be interrupted by Anna's own voice, echoing from outside.

"Seto!" She yelled, and then they heard nothing for a while, before hearing her sunny laugh. However, a second later, they heard raised voices.

"…But why!" They made out. "…sentimental value…!"

"That doesn't sound good…" Mai muttered.

"Ssh!" Téa insisted. The next voice they heard clearly was Kaiba's.

"Az, wait!" Seto pleaded. They heard her shouting again, though they couldn't make out many individual words. Then it went quiet for a long time.

Mai pushed open the door cautiously. If Kaiba had… just proved them right, he'd have to answer to her. And her high-heeled boots.

However, all she saw was Azreal dragging Seto off, arm-in-arm, towards the door, giggling. And, more to the point, he was laughing to.

They stood in the doorway of the toilets for a moment longer.

"Wow." Téa said eventually. "No wonder he's been happier recently…"

"Who would have thought he could _laugh_?" Mai agreed, turning to face the shorter girl. "Téa, we have to guard this relationship! We have three aims: First is Azreal. If that jerk does _anything _to upset her, he'll have to deal with us. Second, even though _we _may not approve of her choice, she obviously does, so we have to make sure no-one else screws it up. And, finally, most importantly, we have to make sure Joey _does not_ find out."

"Ryou…" Téa said suddenly, sounding about as evil as Téa gets.

"What about him?" Mai blinked. "He won't do anything."

"Exactly." Téa glowered. "Come on, Mai, we're going over to his- I have a bone to pick with that boy…"

"What? Téa, what are you talking about!"

"He knew!" She seethed. "He knew, and he didn't tell us! He could have saved us all that embarrassment…"

Ryou should have heeded his own warning- Watch out for Téa…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou had spent most of his time after school crawling round in the small area that served as a loft above his bedroom in his flat, his old jeans wearing into holes as they rubbed on the dusty floorboards. After perhaps half and hour of searching he found what he was looking for- an old cook book, and he had climbed back down, already flicking through the pages.

Téa had enlisted him to make a cake for Yugi at the last minute. He sighed, wishing he wasn't so easy to boss around. The truth was, however good a cook they thought he was, he had never even tried to make anyone a birthday cake. But you don't say no to Téa when she looks like that.

He flicked through the book quickly, deciding just to go for a simple sponge. He had to be at Yugi's in a little over three hours, so he had to be quick.

Turning on his kitchen Radio, Ryou had gotten into the swing of things fairly quickly, sifting flour, creaming butter and sugar… And now all he had to do was add the eggs.

Half-forgotten memories of making cakes with his mom and sister when he was really small flickered through his mind. His mom had always told them that the egg was the most important part, because it pulled the mixture together. Breaking an egg without losing a single piece of shell was a skill, she had insisted. Ryou was getting good at it now, probably because he often ate omelettes when he was too tired to cook properly. Which was most of the time. He'd dread to see his cholesterol levels.

He took a knife from the drawer, purely because he found it easier to break the egg neatly that way. He lined up carefully. Too hard, and the shell would crumble both into the mixture and the egg. It took care, and patienc-

Boo!

Ryou jumped and pressed down instinctively. Predictably, his cake mixture suddenly contained egg shell, which, needless to say, wasn't in the recipe.

"Gordon Bennet…" He cursed, fishing in the draw for a teaspoon so he could begin the tedious task of fishing all the pieces out. You just _had _to do that, didn't you, Yami? He scolded in irritation. You know I'm in a rush.

Why are you cooking anyway? Bakura scowled back. You act like a girl, you know that! Especially when you tie your hair back…

It's better then getting that in the cake to! Ryou responded, now thoroughly racked off. Can't you leave me in peace for five minutes!

He snorted. You think I don't get bored in that Ring? I have to do something to entertain myself…

Does it _have _to be annoying me? Ryou demanded, pulling another piece of eggshell out, strongly resisting the urge to run his hands through his hair in frustration.

I could possess you instead, if you like… Bakura suggested slyly. Just then, the buzzer began to ring insistently. Ryou looked down in despair. The cake was nowhere near done, the eggshell was slowly sinking, Bakura was smirking, and he was covered in flour and egg up to his elbows. And he didn't have much time. Now was not the ideal moment for visitors.

The buzzer went again, and, sighing, Ryou pressed the button with his elbow, not wanting to risk his messy fingers.

"Yes?" He asked, none-to-politely.

"Ryou…" Téa's voice came through. And she used a tone that usually meant someone was in trouble. In this case, him.

"Téa? What's wrong?" He wondered if Téa was about to kill him.

"What's wrong!" She screamed. "You knew about Anna and Kaiba!"

"…Oh…" Ryou said, buzzing her up.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Please excuse me…" He said nervously as not only Téa, but Mai as well, entered his flat. "I need to keep on cooking, because the cake needs to go in the oven soon…" He gestured at them to sit down on the counter oppisite the one he was attempting to cook on.

"Why didn't you tell us…?" Téa groaned. "We've just gone and told her to forget about him!"

"Knowing Anna, she won't take that advice to heart." Ryou smiled to himself, leaning over the bowl so she wouldn't see. "I wouldn't worry, Téa."

"That's not the point though." Mai sighed, exasperated, as Ryou, finally finished on eradicating the egg shell fragments began to split the mixture into two cake tins. "Téa said she was going to talk to the girl. Why didn't you say anything then?"

"Because," Ryou shot, his temper wearing thin. "It's really none of my business what she does in her personal life!"

"Yes, but…" Téa trailed off. "We just wanted to help… We didn't realise…"

"Oh, sush." Ryou said, reigning in his temper. Bakura was annoying him, but he shouldn't take it out on Téa, even if she had taken advantage of him on the cake thing. "At any rate, it's not worth arguing over." He slipped the cake into the oven, and went to wash the resultant gunk of cake-making from his hands.

"How long is that going to take to cook?" Mai asked, nodding at the oven as she broke the resultant silence.

"The book says 40 minutes, but I've put it on a higher setting, so hopefully it won't take that long." Ryou answered, pulling his hair out of the ponytail with some relief. He hated wearing it up. "After that, we have to wait for it to cool down, then there should just be time to decorate it before I need to go out."

"What are you decorating it like?" Téa asked curiously.

Ryou smiled. "Wait and see. You're welcome to hang around here if you want, but I'll bet you'd rather go home and get sorted yourselves."

Mai hesitated. "What are you going to do in the meantime?" She asked out of pure curiosity.

"I finally got Metroid Prime Hunters," Ryou grinned, pulling a DS from a shelf in his kitchen. "What do you think I'm going to do?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It was a great night, fun was had by all. Although, that could have been the amount of sugar they ingested. Ryou's hurriedly finished cake didn't help either. He had simply covered the sponge in icing then covered it in sweets- everything from Sherbet Lemons to broken pocky sticks to small chewy sweets to chocolate buttons to anything else he could think of. Apparently, you could just buy something very similar in the supermarkets in England. It was certainly a very odd cake, but also a very tasty one.

Yugi had received a variety of interesting presents, from a watch to a CD he had been looking at last time they went shopping to a _huge _pack of sweets (Not that he needed anymore after that cake) to a pair of socks that played music when he walked in them, (A/N: Who was that! Honestly…) to something that they couldn't quite figure out what it was, but in ten years time would be discovered to be a lamp, and now, there was only one left, this one from Anna.

Yugi had deliberately left it to last, because, in all honesty, he was a little nervous of opening it. Anna was famous for her slightly twisted sense of humour, so he didn't want to think about it. However, the package in the brightly coloured birthday paper _seemed _conservative enough, just a simple rectangle. Yugi took it and peeled back the wrapping cautiously, smiling in delight as he saw what was inside.

It was a deck, the new fire-themed structure deck. Some of these cards would make excellent additions to his deck, and best of all, the present had been nothing to be worried about after all- a deck of cards was just about the safest thing you could get for a Duellist.

"Open them…" Anna prompted, Yugi not spotting her slightly devilish grin. "Take a look at what's inside…"

"Okay…" Yugi nodded, flipping the box open. To his surprise, the opening flap just ripped away in his hand. "Oh no…" He gasped, looking up at Anna. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologise to me, it's yours." She shrugged. "Besides, it's just the box! Just make sure you take more care with the cards, hey?" She smiled to assure him that she was joking.

Yugi pulled the top card from the deck, it just so happening to be The Twin Headed Fire Dragon. As he admired it, he noticed that the card was unusually shiny. He frowned. He wasn't aware that the Dragon came in ultra rare… He rubbed it slightly, and was even more despaired when this caused the card to rip. "Gah!" He yelled, trying to smooth it back in place.

It was then that he noticed his friends were all laughing at him, and he relaxed a little, examining the damaged 'card'. In actual fact, the thing that had ripped had just been foil- foil designed to look like a card, wrapped around a large, but thin, chocolate, the Dragon etched oh-so-lightly into it. He grabbed the 'box', quickly finding that it to was made from Sugar paper- no wonder it had been so easy to rip…

Anna had brought him a 40 card, fire themed, fully-edible deck.

He sighed in relief. He hadn't damaged it after all.

"That's been sitting in my fridge all week." She commented. "It was hard to stop James eating it, I can tell you. And my dad was just as bad…"

Suddenly, Tristan burst out laughing again, and they all looked at him as though he had gone insane.

"Sorry…" He spluttered. "It's just… I was trying to imagine what would happen if Yugi tried to duel with chocolate cards… The look on his face when he thought he'd ripped it…"

There was a moment's silence as they all tried to picture Yugi attempting to duel with cards that ripped and melted everywhere. And, one by one, they all picked up the giggles.

"You should use them next time you duel Kaiba." Joey suggested, grinning evilly. "Or, better yet, wear the musical socks!"

They all collapsed into laughter again as they imagined Seto trying to duel when 'Happy Birthday to You' kept playing over and over from some unknown source.

"He'd think he'd gone mad!" Tristan laughed.

"No," Téa dismissed, laughing. "I just _bet _he has a pair of musical socks hidden away…!"

"But what song would they play?" Yugi asked "'We are The Champions'?"

"Maybe," Mai replied without thinking. "Why don't you ask Azreal? She's the one dating the guy…"

The laughter stopped abruptly.

"…Oops." Mai winced.

"Heh…" Azreal muttered as all eyes turned to her questioningly. "Well, I guess that's let the cat out of the bag…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: _(Is humming 'We are the Champions'- Another song by Queen) _Not fair… I want Metroid Prime Hunters… More to the point, I'd need a DS first. Meh. I have to say, I love the idea of Seto being driven insane by musical socks, but then, I have a very twisted sense of humour. Well, they're not secret anymore… which could lead to some very messy situations! Dun-dun-duuuuuuuuuuuuuun! Oh, one last thing... I'm going on holiday very early on Saturday, and so, my parents want me to be packed and ready to go by Friday morning.Which means I shall be packing tomorrow. Couple that with 3 siblings and a visit from Church friends, andit's not as simple as it sounds_... (Sigh_) Oh well. I'll have more time on Friday, whilemy parents try to sort out, so there should be AT LEAST one more chapter before then. We'll just have to see how it turns out... Till then, goodbye!


	5. Filler 1

A/N: Okay, I'm in a rush, it's all busy, so I didn't want to give you a rushed chapter, but I haven't abandoned you! This is something I wrote and edited in about an hour, and the second half will be up tomorrow, as we take a behind-the-scenes look, _The Office _style, look at the making of **AfI **in a two-part filler! Beware of extreme OOC-ness and mild language on the part of one person… What are the actors behind the faces _really _like! Thanks for the reviews, I'll respond when we get back to the fic proper! Oh, **Willowwind**, I'm borrowing that T-shirt next chapter, okay... You'll guess which one...

**Filler: Acting for Inspiration Part 1**

_In late February, 2005, BBC camera crews did something previously unheard of…_

_They followed the work of an Aspiring Actress as she did her first big job, _Amusing for Inspiration_…_

_From the start to the end, in a two part series…_

_To get a _real _look at what goes on 'Behind the Scenes'…_

_**Day 1…**_

"Well, I'm here." The young woman, no older then 19, said, hugging her coat closer to her, though whether out of nerves or from the cold wind no one could tell. "My first big job… I mean, I've done adverts before, but…"

_"What adverts have you been on?" _The director of the documentary asked, from somewhere behind the camera, smiling encouragingly.

"Um… Kids stuff, mainly…" She considered. "Did you ever see those _Persil _adverts? That was me."

_"The 'Girl Next Door'?"_

"No." She shook her head. "No. The one in the background when they went to the coffee shop." She sighed deeply. "That's the kind of stuff I'm used to. Extras and that. But this… 'Yu-Gi-Oh.'… This is like, a hundred times the size."

_"Are you nervous?"_

She laughed. "Am I ever! Still…" She smiled positively. "At least the director uses all the actors real names, so I won't forget anyone… I was worried about getting lost, but now... Well, I was a bit disappointed…"

The camera zoomed out so the people at home could see what she was gesturing at behind her.

"Call me Naive, but I was a little surprised that the entirety of Domino City is actually in a small studio just outside Surry." She shrugged. "Well, you know… I'm new to this… I'm the 'newbie', yeah? I mean, I don't know what to expect. I don't know any of the other actors- one of whom I'm supposed to have a relationship with- I don't know the director, or the way it works…" She ran her hand through her hair worriedly. "Yeah. The nerves are running high right now. I'm scared. That's the only way to put it. I'm scared to death." She smiled wryly, sucking in breath, and turned to go into the studio proper.

_/Cut scene, Fading Transition/ _

In a small room, the BBC were preparing to interview the creator and director of the show, Kazuki Takahasi. Once he had his microphone on correctly, the cameras rolled and the interview began. However, only a few of the questions would make it when the film was edited.

"So, how do you feel about Anna? Do you think she'll do a good job?"

He nodded. "Oh, yes. I mean, sure, she's scared right now, of all the Big Bad 'Big Names', but I saw her and _knew _she was perfect for Azreal. I gave her the contract for all three of the 'Musing' Specials, _and _the spin off." He laughed. "Not that she had much of a choice! I wouldn't take no for an answer!"

"So you think she's good for the part?"

"Good?" He echoed. "She's _perfect_! I just hope she isn't too surprised by the other actors… Let's just say they act a bit differently to on camera…" He laughed. "But, no, we're all one big happy family here- except maybe Téa, she's never happy- and I'm sure she'll be welcomed with open arms…!"

_/Cut Scene, White Fade Transition/ _

"Okay." Anna said, barely giving the cameras time to turn on. "I'm here, I've met the floor manager, and now it's time to meet the cast…" She looked around. "And I'm sure I saw Seto around here somewhere… Oh, there he is!" The camera turned quickly to where she was pointing, to where a tall man, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt was talking to one of the lighting operators. "Let's go see if we can talk to him…"

Anna walked quickly across the studio, approaching the man from behind. This was it. Her on-screen boyfriend, who she would have to kiss on the show. So it was important that she made a good first impression.

"I know that," He was saying to the lighting man. "But could we not just use a few less bulbs? Or at least get energy saving ones? I'm sure they're just as good…"

The man grunted and shook his head, so Anna took her opportunity.

"Excuse me… Seto?"

He turned around, threw a quick glance at the cameras, but was then back to business as he smiled and shook her hand warmly.

"Hi." He answered. "You must be Anna, yes?"

"That's right…" She replied.

"Well, don't worry!" He said cheerily, laughing at her nerves. "I'm no where near as bad as I am on the show!"

"I'll say…" She replied, turning him round slightly so he faced the cameras. "I mean, come on, would the Seto Kaiba we all know from YGO wear a shirt like this?"

She pointed and the camera zoomed in on the front of his T-shirt where the words 'Save the Whales' were emblazoned on the front in large letters.

"Yeah, well, saving the planet is important." Seto defended, although no-one had said there was anything wrong with it. "And when you're an actor- like me- you know, a national icon, you have a duty to set a good example." He hesitated for a moment. "Not that I'm wearing this shirt just because I'm an actor. I mean, I would anyway. It's not like I feel obliged to wear it just because people will see me. I actually do believe in… well, Saving the Whales and the World and everything… It's an important issue. And the amount of electricity we use in this studio! We must be killing half the planet by now. Or, a small island, at least… I mean, I don't think TV is all bad, I make a living from it, but I don't think we need all those lights…"

"Yes we do!" The light man yelled in frustration, and as Seto went to get in another argument with him, Anna bade him goodbye and slipped away as fast as she could.

"That was surreal…" She muttered, shaking her head. "I mean, I've always seen him on the show being a complete… well, I won't say it before the Water shed… but he's actually… like that. Eco-warrior, type… I don't know what to say. Surreal, absolutely surreal... Speaking of which…" She looked at something behind the cameras, which quickly turned round to see what she was looking at. There, desperately trying to sneak past, was the woman who played Téa.

"She's actually forty-five," Anna narrated. "And she's been smoking twenty a day for as long as anyone knows, apparently. Just shows what you can do with a bit of make up…" She came back into view again, going to catch up with the older woman, who continued to hurry away, eventually forcing Anna to run to catch up with her.

"Hey! Hey, Téa!" She called. The woman sighed deeply and turned around.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Um… hi." Anna tried, slightly taken aback by the hostile tone. "I'm new to this… I'm playing Azreal?"

"Then let me give you one piece of advice." Téa replied, eying the cameras in distaste. "Get out while you still can. You're young, and _reasonably_ pretty… You can still get out of this dump. Go do modelling or something. I'm sure they could do something about your face."

She stormed off as Anna blinked a little.

"Um…" She turned to the camera crew and simply shrugged. That hadn't been what she had been expecting… Suddenly, the floor manager came and talked to her briefly. It was time to go to make up.

_/Ad Break/ _

Back in the small room taken over for interviews, Seto and Téa were taking their seats. This could be interesting.

_"So, what do you think about your new cast member?"_

Seto shrugged. "She's alright, yeah. Seems nice enough. Enthusiastic." He looked thoughtful. "I'm sure she's just nervous right now, but I have no doubt she'll soon get into it. She's got guts just to turn up."

"Bah." Téa sniffed, lighting up a cigarette while the floor manager wouldn't catch here. "You don't need guts to do this job. She's too spunky… That'll go. You don't need guts, you don't need spunk…" She laughed slightly. "I've got everything I need, right here." She waved the cigarette in her one hand and her cup of coffee in the other.

"I'm surprised you can still taste that." Seto commented, nodding at her coffee. "You're killing yourself with those things, you know that?"

"Good." Téa responded bitterly. "I'm sick of being stuck in kid's programmes… Acting a fifteen year old… It's so demeaning. Especially when she is such a _twat_!"

_"We'll have to censor that…" The director of the documentary whispered to the person in charge of the sound, who nodded their understanding._

"Well, fine, if you want to kill yourself, fine." Seto said angrily. "But you shouldn't smoke around other people! You're killing us to, you know, with your second hand smoke…"

"You are such a twink." She responded, deliberately blowing smoke in his face. He chocked, but recovered quickly, refusing to shout back. "You are such a _ponce, _Seto…"

"You're a murderer!" He said coolly. "And you're killing the planet…"

"Good riddance…" She muttered, just to annoy him.

"Murderer!" He muttered again.

"Oh, grow up…"

"Murderer!"

"I don't have to listen to this!" Téa stood up.

"Murderer! Murderer! Murderer!" Seto taunted over and over until she slapped him and stormed out the room, the door slamming behind her.

Seto rubbed his stinging face. "And she called me immature." He snorted, circling a finger round his ear to symbolise madness. "Actresses…" He murmured conspiratorially. "Highly strung."

_/Cut scene, Fade Transition/ _

Standing before the cameras now was Azreal Kiyoko, complete with professionally messed up hair, emerald contact lenses, glasses, jeans wearing into holes, and the multicoloured jumper that would be replaced by a jacket in the sequels.

"Well, for the first time, I am now _officially _Azreal." She smiled. "Apart from the wings. See, this is the high-tech wizardry bit." She turned around, and they could see wire frames strapped to her back.

"See? These fold out, you see, and it's lightweight, so the movement will be as natural as possible." She craned over her shoulder, and pointed to a small white pad stuck to one of the joints. "There's these little sensor thingamabobs on each of the joints. They're gonna add all the feathers and stuff in later…I don't really get it." She laughed. "You'd have to ask the guys down at CGI about that. Now look!" She pointed, and the camera turned to reveal that she had just been standing in the corner of the make up room, where someone was getting sorted.

"Do you recognise him?" She laughed excitedly. "I didn't at first!"

The guy, a young brunet, looked up and smiled. "Hello again."

"Can you believe it? This is what his hair is _really _like!" She giggled, pointing at the short brown hair. "In case you don't get it yet, this is Yugi. And his hair is completely normal!"

"It's Alan's- the guy who plays Yami- hair that's like that." Yugi explained. "And, you know, we have to look the same, and he'd have to spend hours in make up to get his hair like mine, so…" He shrugged. "Mine's just a wig. Oh, look who decided to show up…!"

The camera swivelled to the door, where the Bakura twins were standing, looking at the cameras in bewilderment.

"These," Yugi said. "Are the guys that play Ryou and Bakura, which is their second name. Except they couldn't decide who should play who, so they just change."

"Hi." One said, and then he spotted 'Azreal'. "Oh, are you our new colleague?"

"That's right." Anna replied. "I look forward to it."

"Well, there's only one question to ask…" the other twin said, seriously. "Do you think Seto is a very sweet, very caring, complete and utter _nerd_?"

"Well…" She said, not wanting to be rude, but the three guys laughed.

"Then you'll fit in here just fine…" One laughed.

"So, who's acting Ryou today?" Yugi asked.

"Which scenes are we filming?" He asked by way of reply, grabbing a clipboard and flicking through. "Oh…" He said to his twin. "You can do it today. You said you needed the money…" He left the room quickly, laughing.

"Either he's being nice for once, or…" The remaining half of the twin set said suspiciously, looking through the schedule for himself. "I knew it!" He howled. "I'm being locked in a shed with _Téa!_" he pulled the door open. "You're supposed to be my brother!" He howled, giving chase, leaving the door hanging open, Anna bewildered, and Yugi laughing.

_/Final Transition/ _

Back to being Anna again, at the end of her first day of filming, and it was time for her to be interviewed.

"This place is _insane_!" She said delightedly, slightly disbelievingly. "It's a nuthouse! And the _people…_" She shook her head. "These people are awesome actors. I mean, they are _incredible. _They just assume completely different characters…" She smiled tiredly. "Well, it was a long day, but I can't wait for tomorrow…"

_/End of Part One…_

A/N: Well, gotta dash- it's packing time! However, part 2 will be up tomorrow- now that we've had a nice introduction to the cast, we'll see what they get up to on set! Gotta run!


	6. Filler 2

A/N: Well, you thought the first chapter was odd, but it's about to get odder… Thanks to **Dragonlady222 **and **Willowwind **for the reviews, as per usual, and I'm glad to see you finally showed up, Scooby2408. Only kidding. Sorry, no time for proper responces again... My dad wants on...

**Filler: Acting for Inspiration Part 2**

_It has now been 1 week since Anna Mitsan joined the Cast of Yu-Gi-Oh to shoot the special Made-for-TV Movie, _Amusing for Inspiration

_About 60 percent of the scenes have been shot due to Cast and Crew alike working efficiently. There is no particular order as to which scenes are shot on witch day, besides the whims of Kazuki Takahasi._

_And now, after working hard for a week, acting is becoming boring, and we re-join the cast as they try and find something to do…_

_**Day 8…**_

The camera entered the staff room, and it was not all that glamorous. It could have been any staff room in the world, with chairs and a small counter to make drinks on. It even had a kettle.

Inside, Anna was taking a chance to have a drink while she wasn't needed, and the only other person in the room with her was the guy that played Yami, who's real name was Alan.

"Well," She said, resting her mug on her lap. "They're just shooting the ending scenes now, where Yugi and Ryou are pretending to be gay, so I'm just hanging around in here…" She nodded at the man sitting silently on the other side of the room. "And look who else is here! I think Yami actually only comes in once, so this is the first time I've met Alan… Um… He doesn't talk much, but… Do you, Alan?"  
He glared and said nothing.

Anna laughed slightly. "Well, what do you expect, after 5000 years of being in the Puzzle?" She leaned forward, whispering. "I think someone's spent a little too long trapped inside a Pyramid…"

"Which the Egyptians didn't build." Alan announced randomly, proving that he had heard the comment.

"What?" Anna blinked.

"The Egyptians didn't build the Pyramids. At least, not alone." Alan insisted. "There's no way they could have done it alone."

"Um… Well, they must have done because the Pyramids are there…" Anna replied, sucking down coffee like it was the only thing keeping her alive.

"No." He shook his head. "Aliens. They must have had help from Aliens. Some people think the Pyramids are really special 'Computers' that calculate… Things."

"Right, okay." Anna raised an eyebrow.

"Or that they're some kind of weapon…" Alan continued.

Just then, Ryou entered, grinning inanely. At least Anna could tell the difference between him and his brother now. Speaking of the other half of the twin set, he must have been acting that day. "Have you seen Seto?" He asked.

"No…" Anna frowned.

"Oh good!" He smiled in relief. "I thought I'd missed him…"

"What have you done?" She asked tolerantly.

"Wait and see…" he smiled, disappearing again.

The room fell into silence. Anna just raised her eyebrows, clearly thinking about how crazed this place was, and continued to drink.

_/Cut Scene, Fading Transition, Text:Lunchtime/_

At lunch, they were all sat in the staff room, eating various meals, Téa one that she probably couldn't even taste. It was very crowded in the small room, because, for the first time, the entire cast except Seto was in there, tired after a morning filming. Apart from Alan, who had only done one scene, and Anna hadn't done any yet. They were all eating companionably, and having nice, civilised conversation.

Or listening in bewilderment to Alan insisting loudly to the Bakura brothers that twins were in fact descended from a failed genetic experiment to clone people.

Just then, the door banged open, and Seto came in, looking angry.

"Alright!" He demanded. "Who was it!"

"Who was what?" Yugi asked innocently, although he had a feeling that if something was afoot, the twins would be behind it.

"You know what!" Seto insisted angrily. "Don't try to play innocent, any of you!"

"No, we don't know what, and we don't really care to either." Téa snorted.

"Ah, c'mon…" Anna muttered to her, perhaps a little more inclined to be nice to Seto, mainly because she hadn't been stuck with the guy for as long as the others. "What's the matter, Seto?"

"What's the matter!" He screamed back, waving something. "_This _is the matter! I went to change out of costume, and this is what I found!"

Anna grabbed the piece of material he was failing in her face, and held it still so she could see. The camera zoomed in on it eagerly. It was yet another of Seto's environmental T-shirts, the one he had worn that morning, with, if she remembered correctly, SAVE THE WORLD written in big black letters. And, indeed, the slogan was still there- but someone had added to it, for written underneath in neat hand writing, was put (We'll Trade it for Something Shiny Later).

"See?" Seto yelled, obviously upset even as his fellow cast members, looking over Anna's shoulder, collapsed into giggles. "What a terrible thing to say! SAVE THE WORLD, We'll Trade it for Something Shiny Later? What's that supposed to mean!"

"Seto…" Anna said, holding back a laugh and trying to calm him down. "It's just a joke… just a funny slogan… calm down, already…"

"But it's not funny!" Seto insisted. "It's sick! The planet is the only place we have to live and we should take care of it, not kill it. I'm trying to make a statement-"

"Well, no worries, Seto, you certainly do that." One of the Twins commented, impossible to tell the voices apart unless you saw their faces. "It's just a joke, for pity's sake. Just a bit of fun."

"So it was you two!" Seto accused, his eyes narrowing. "I should've guessed! This is exactly the kind of thing you'd do!"

"Hey, hey!" Ryou said, holding his hands up. "Calm down! Don't do anything 'Hasty'. I wouldn't want to get in a fight with you…"

"No, you wouldn't." Seto scowled. "Because you know I'd beat you."

"Exactly." Ryou grinned, Seto the only one not realising he was being wound up again.

"Now," Seto snatched his top back from Anna. "I am taking this to the dry cleaners, and I expect you two to pay the bill!" He marched out the room, head held to the sky.

The remaining cast members looked at each other in disbelief, then burst out laughing.

_/Cut scene, Fading Transition/_

Seto stomped into the interviewing room.

"Look at this!" He yelled, holding up the vandalised T-shirt in annoyance. "Look what those damn twins have done!"

_"What are you going to do?" _The interviewer asked.

Seto looked pensive. "I'm not sure yet. But it'll be good…" He nodded firmly. "This time, they have gone too far. And I will get my revenge…! But, right now, I have to go on stage. I'm about to do the ending scene, when Azreal turns up at my doorway and I get my memories back…"

_"Are you looking forward to kissing her?"_

Seto considered, head on one side. "I'm not dreading it…" He said eventually. "But I'm sure she'll enjoy it more then me. I'm just hoping my girlfriend doesn't look too deeply into it…"

"Ignore him!" A certain person's voice echoed from where he had been listening from outside the partly open door. "He doesn't _have _a girlfriend!"

Seto stood up, running out the room. "Bakura!" He yelled. "I swear…!"

The camera just caught a shot of a laughing white-haired actor running off down the corridor, ahead of a very annoyed brunet after his blood.

_/Cut scene, Fading Transition/ _

Anna was in the interview room now, in full Azreal get-up, minus the wings.

"Well," She sighed nervously. "I'm about to do my first screen-kiss…And it's weirding me completely, especially after that little display Seto gave us at lunch time…" She twirled a loose strand of hair absently. "Plus, I'm worried the Bakuras are going to pull something… There seems to be a vendetta between them and Seto…"

_"Are you looking forward to it?" _

She didn't hesitate. "Not really… I mean, when I first got the part, I was…" She sighed. "But what they don't show on film is dog-breath. I mean, no offence to Seto if he ends up watching this, but… A Tic Tac wouldn't hurt you, man! Goodness!" She sighed again, and stood up. "Well, it's time… let's hope that Seto cleaned his mouth at lunchtime…" She grimaced, but then, marched out determinedly.

_/Cut scene, Fading Transition/_

Anna's heart was pounding, but it was of nerves, not the kind of way you get when you are with your love.

_Just get this over with… _She thought _Just imagine that's it's _the _Seto Kaiba from the show, not the dog-breathed Eco-warrior nerd from behind the scenes… Just kiss the guy and be done with it… Just ignore his breath, ignore the rest of the cast watching, ignore the fact that this will be watched by the nation…_

She was about to close her eyes, but just caught a glimpse of Seto's teeth before his lips. And she screamed in surprise, jumping back. "Sorry, sorry…!" She yelled. "Seto, your teeth are _blue_!"

Behind her, the cast were laughing raucously. Guess who was laughing loudest.

Seto glared at them. "Food colouring in the food?" He asked. "Oh, _real _mature, guys!"

"If you leave your sandwiches lying around, you demand for them to be tampered with." One of the Bakuras shrugged. "In future, don't leave them lying around!"

"They weren't lying around…" Seto ground out. "They were hidden in a non-descript plastic carrier bag underneath the loose floor board in the dressing room!"

"Then hide them better." He shrugged.

"Or check the filling for unusual colouring." The other chimed in.

"Right!" Seto declared. "That is _it_! I should have done this a long time ago! I _quit_!"

He stormed out the studio, not even bothering to go and get changed out of the (fake) leather trousers and the trademark Trench coat.

The Cast and Crew looked at each other.

_/Cut Scene, Fading Transition, Text:**Day 25: **/_

Anna was talking in the interview room, but they would use it as a voice-over later.

"Well, it's Day 25, and we're still at a standstill with the filming, because Seto hasn't come back yet…"

Yugi, Alan and Téa were in the staff room; smoking, staring into space and building a house of cards respectively.

"The Bakura Brothers are kinda in disgrace right now…" She laughed a little. "They're not in the Director's Good Books at the minute…"

The twins in question were talking to the light man, who wasn't anymore friendly to them then he had been to Seto, although they were technically earning him more money the longer they had to wait for Seto.

"The thing is, no-one knows where he's gone. He's not at home or anything. I'm thinking he's run off with Greenpeace to save the whales or something, in witch case, we're screwed." The screen returned to Anna, who was sitting in the interview room, at a bit of a lose end.

"Actually, I'm right here!" Seto declared gleefully wandering into the room.

"I'm not sure whether to hug you or punch you," Anna said disbelievingly. "So I'll decline to do either. What are you _doing _here! Where have you been?"

"Getting my revenge." He laughed. "See? I held you all up for more then a fortnight! Maybe it'll teach you all to respect me!"

"Changed my mind." Anna said. "I'm gonna punch ya!"

_/Cut Scene, Fuzzy screen Transition/_

_/Credits showing scenes not used in documentary/_

Amusing for Inspiration _was eventually released, almost 3 weeks late. The other half a week that Seto hadn't wasted was used trying to stop all his fellow cast members from pummelling him._

_Seto has decided that once the show is finished in it's entirety he will give up acting and go and join Greenpeace in Saving the World (and whales)._

_Téa officially quit smoking, claiming that with the memory of Seto getting punched she can bear to live._

_When Amusing was done, Alan was found trying to sneak into Area 51 and is now awaiting trial for Acts of Suspected Terrorism. He is expected to be let off with a fine._

_The Bakura Brothers began their own sitcom, which is filming now._

_Yugi took a part as one of the seven dwarves in a local pantomime to try and raise the money to pay Alan's bail._

_Anna earned enough money to move out of her parent's house, and now has her own home near the coast. She will not give any of her fellow-cast members her address. _

_The next time she meets the others will be for the filming of the Spin-off of the series, where she does not have such a major part, _It's My Move.

_Anna's comment when told this was 'Don't remind me'._

_**The End**_

A/N: Well, that little trip into the bizarre realms of OOC-ness is over. Oh, and so she won't hurt me, I heard the 'SAVE THE WORLD- We'll trade it for something shiny later' T-shirt slogan off my-ever helpful friend **Willowwind, **but it's not hers either. She stole it off a friend and I stole it off her. So thanks to **Willowwind's **friend!

And now, it's time for me to leave you for two weeks. I love writing these fanfics, and I have no doubt that in a few days I'll be longing for a keyboard, but still. I have my trusty notebook and a few one-shots in mind! It'll also be nice to have a break from an update schedule. I have put up _at least _one chapter a week, every week, since February the 22nd, when **AfI** popped into my head! However, here's a fun fact I bet you never knew- I almost paired Azreal with Ryou, the idea being that he found out who wrote the love letter to Téa. The Azreal/Seto pairing pushed it out of the way as I was starting chapter one. I tried to convince myself not to do it, because I had the Az/Ryou all planned out, but it just seemed to work so much better… and look how it's turned out! The first fic, the start of the sequel, a spin-off, and a third fic in the pipeline! It's certainly grown…

But even Azreal needs a break sometimes, and so do I. So I shall see you in just over 2 weeks, when we return to **WyG**with a rather interesting problem… and what do they have planned for poor old Ryou! Join me in chapter 5, at the moment called USKFC! Guess what it stands for… Until then, have fun everyone, whatever you're doing!

Actually signing off for once, **Waffles**


	7. USKFC

A/N: Whee, Manga! I found two more shops that sell Manga, and I got volumes 1 and 2 of Yu-Gi-Oh, Wai! I love you, Forbidden Planet! Borders as well! And Nostalgia is good as well! FP has 7 different issues of YGO, and that's where I got mine-Which I'm itching to read- and, best of all, they were selling 3 for £10! That would usually get you about 1 and a chapter. I got the two YGO Manga for me and another, different Manga… Hee hee. **Scooby2408, **Guess what you're getting for your birthday…

I'm back from holiday, by the way. Heh. Anyways, I had a great time! We went to lots of places, had a lot of laughs, and, in my case, at least, played probably more video games then I should have done. But hey, I never play at home! And finally, after about 7 years, I got around to kicking the Elite Four and completing Pokémon Blue! Mewtwo is mine, mwhahahahaha! A monument us day! And I begun the gem that is Final Fantasy X… They talk! That game freaking rocks, I swear… As in, 23 hours of game play over 4 days, rocks. There were comedians and circuses and trampolines and all sorts… Fun fun fun! If anyone's wondering where yesterday's chapter was, the answer is, that I was sleeping, unpacking a pile of stuff _this _big, answering a stack of E-mails **_this _**big, and catching up on updates of fics and webcoms in a pile **_THIS _**big. So sorry about the lack of chapter yesterday, but I'm here now! Although, I wouldn't stake my life on there being a chapter every day… Hmm… I am suspiciously close to developing a social life…

Review Responses: (For Chapter 4 & Fillers)

**Scooby2408:**Yes, I'd say 4 chapters in five days is pretty impressive... considering that you've written less then that on your fic in zonks. Although, your birthday fic may just give you a few ideas... heh heh heh. Check your E-mail the day I come over, I'll be sending you another teaser that morning... ha! Let's just assume I'm to bring my YGO manga with me for you to borrow, shall we, and save you hinting?

**Willowwind:** On the subject of them eating dog:- It does suggest otherwise! It says there is no dog on the menu! See, right here:

_"I'm glad you like the dog." _Seto replied innocently. He had never met anyone from outside Asia yet who wasn't fussy at the idea of eating a dog. He didn't know why they thought it was any worse then eating a pig or cow, but he knew they hated.

The chefs at the restaurant knew that to, and, with a lot of business meetings, just like this one, **they served no dog at all**. But this jerk didn't have to know that.

Hah! Anyways, my fillers were 'funny, but weird', hey? Well, at least you didn't say 'Ahhhhhhh! My whole perception of reality has been changed!' Like _some _people...

**Dragonlady222**: I had a lot of fun on my holidays, thankyou! And have fun with your realtives from Oz! I have nothing against the Aussies, in fact, I think it looks like a way better country then mine... but we're still going to win the Ashes, this year. Hah. Hah. Hah. _(Hopes desperatly that she will not have to eat her words)_

Disclaimer: Nada... Credit to Kazuki Takahasi and 9E, as usual.

And now, _finally _onto the next chapter, in witch we meet a new character, we find out what USKFC stands for, and Seto talks to a lamppost! It's been a while, but I am Back!

Five: USKFC 

_Still June_

Azreal was walking innocently along the road when it happened. Or as innocently as she ever was, anyway. She was making her way home, planning to stop at Mokuba's school on the way, as usual. She walked along, feeling happy for no particular reason except that she had no reason not to be, humming a tune under her breath, and, as you might expect, completely unaware that she was being watched from across the street.

She was nearly at Mokuba's school when she saw the group of girls from her class waiting for her. She didn't know them that well, but they weren't enemies. She stopped when she got near them- not that she had much of a choice, seeing as they were more or less blocking the entire pavement.

"Hey." She said, smiling, and going to move past them. But the girls weren't having any of it.

"Wait, Anna, we want to ask you something!" One of the girls insisted, catching her arm. "We've heard these rumours and…" She laughed, as though it was silly. "Well, is it true you're dating Kaiba?"

"Yeah…" She said, trying to push past again.

"Really?" Another girl checked. "Because it doesn't seem like it…"

"We just like to keep our private life private." Anna replied, a little more harshly then necessary. "And I don't care to discuss it in public either." _Or with you. _She added silently. "So if we're done, I have places to turn up at, people to insult…"

"Oh, go ahead." The girl holding her arm said, letting go. "Don't let us keep you…" But even as Mitsan's figure disappeared down the street, the smiles turned to glares.

Long ago, the USKFCs had made a pact. Soon, it would be time to act on it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The strange encounter had completely vanished from her mind by the next day. In fact, she woke up feeling even more optimistic then usual.

"Urrghmmph…" She muttered, stretching and venturing out with her feet onto her bedroom floor. She quite literally rolled out of bed and lay on her carpet for a moment, looking at the ceiling, and sighed happily. "Friday." She whispered. "Another day for life." She sprung to her feet, and calmly lifting her giggling, younger half brother out of the way of the bathroom door, she sent him downstairs and had a shower.

And decided that maybe today she would wear her hair loose. Just to see what people thought.

Even the Shower water was warm when she turned it on; she would not have to wait for it to heat up.

Today was going to be a good day, she just knew it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"I'm going to get a dog." He declared happily, and quite certainly. "I'm going to go to the animal sanctuary after school. You guys should come and help me choose. If you want to, of course."

"I'd love to." Anna replied immediately. "I just have to drop Mokuba home and get a change of clothes first. Maybe I can meet you guys there?"

"Sure." Ryou smiled. "Thanks."

Anna did not fail to see the uneasy look that passed between the others, particularly Joey, Téa and Yugi. None of them could quite believe that he wasn't up to anything, but that was their problem. The look went as quickly as it came, and soon they were all agreeing to meet up that day with them.

Just as the arrangements were made, the bell rang for the end of break, and Ryou and Anna headed toward G&T class, their beloved guitar (Ryou had got around to buying one of his own by now, and it had improved his playing tenfold) and sheep doodles.

"So…" Anna ventured. "A dog. In a flat."

Ryou laughed. "Hey, it'll work out."

"Yeah, if it's trained to go out of windows." She snorted. "Wouldn't a cat be better? At least they don't need to go out."

"I am not getting a cat." Ryou said adamantly, rubbing some small red lines on his right palm. She had always assumed that they, like all the other scars on his arms, were Bakura-induced, just not as bad as the others. But maybe…

"That was a cat?" She asked.

"Yes." Ryou agreed. "It was a rash for weeks. Turns out I'm allergic…"

Anna laughed.

"What?" He asked defensively.

"Nothing." She shook her head, still giggling. Ryou, who had a evil spirit festering within him, who had survived the Shadow Realm and numerous comas, was allergic to pussy cats. Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she rolled the sleeve of her jacket up and twisted her arm round to show him a small red circle on her elbow.

"Rabbit." She explained.

"A _rabbit_?" Ryou echoed. "What? A cute little furry thing?"

"Hey, rabbits are vicious! And this one had it in for me…"

"Yes, I'm sure it was the don of the rabbit mafia."

"Well, I wouldn't put it past it…"

"It's a conspiracy…"

"I'm serious!"

"As am I. I think they're in cahoots with the cats."

"Yes! And dogs are the good guys!"

"Exactly. So I must get a dog to help with the course of justice and fairness and equality for all!"

They weren't half getting some strange looks for that conversation…

"Say," Anna thought suddenly. "Wasn't there a cartoon about super hero dogs once?"

"Superdog." Ryou replied seriously. "I used to watch it as a kid. Superman's dog. I liked it because the cat always got it's just desserts. I remember one time, it was going to drown in a vat of dog food and Superdog…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was shaken from her thoughts very suddenly as, almost at the end of G&T class, Ryou sat down very quickly next to her. That was surprising enough in itself, seeing as he was usually up and playing with the band until the very last second. But there he was, looking stunned.

"What's up?" Anna asked him. He looked at her in blank surprise.

"They want me to join…" He said, voice barely audible.

Anna blinked, not comprehending what he meant.

"The band." He said. "They want me to join. Officially, I mean, not just playing with them in this class. They reckon that I'm good enough to replace their old guitarist. That was why they couldn't do the Christmas show- their guitarist had left. But if I join…"

"Congratulations." Anna smiled.

"Hey, hey!" Ryou said hastily. "I haven't decided yet. I'm not sure if I'm good en-"

_"Congratulations." _Anna insisted. "Ryou, if you do not do this, I shall have to kick your backside all the way back to your Stoke on Trent."

He looked uncertain, then nodded.

"Alright." He smiled nervously, and headed back to the others to accept. A moment later, their songs were striking up again, and Ryou was playing better then ever before- enough to get the entire room listening.

Azreal grinned happily and went back to drawing Wings. She had just known that today would be great.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"I wonder what they talk about all the time…?"

"I don't even want to know."

"I mean, he never talks to anyone else… And he's laughing…"

"I don't want to hear it!"

There had been many reactions to Anna's relationship with Seto, but while Téa was bewildered, Joey still did not want to know, and quickly changed the subject.

Seto had been eating lunch on his own, as usual, and then Azreal had came and sat oppisite him, pulling a lunchbox out of her bag. According to Ryou, the school food was abysmal, and she didn't want to try it.

Especially if what he'd told her about the casserole and the fork was true.

"Do you have to eat them like that?" Seto asked, as she began to nibble around the sandwich, eating the crust first all the way round.

"Yes." She nodded seriously. "Hey, do you need me to pick up Mokuba tonight?"

"Please." He nodded. "I have yet another mind-boggling boring meeting to attend. Lucky me."

She laughed. "Well, I'm going to go andbuy Ryou a doggie!"

Seto declined to comment, and changed the subject.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Dum de da de de…" She sang absently, not knowing that particular part of the words. "I am one of those melodramatic fools… something something something… It all keeps adding up! I think I'm cracking up!... I went to a shrink…"

She trailed off the bright, if odd tune as she noticed the same group of girls from the day before standing in the same place as yesterday. She felt the warning bells rising in her head, but, trusting as ever, quashed them down. Maybe they just hung out there or something.

"Hi, everyone…" Anna said, trying to push past them, but they weren't having any of it.

"Anna!" The ring leader said, regaining that surprisingly strong grip on her arm. "We wanted to talk to you…"

"I swear, that rabbit died of natural causes!" Anna insisted. They blinked at her in confusion.

"That's not it." The girl said, quickly regaining face. Anna racked her brains for a name, and eventually remembered. Ami, from her PE (Gym?) class.

"Then what's the matter?" Anna asked, beginning to think this was a really, really, bad idea.

"Do you see _these_, Anna?" Ami hissed, pointing at some badges they were all wearing. They had not been there the day before, or in school, Anna was sure. However, now each one of the girls was wearing a small red or blue rectangular badge, emblazoned with the letters 'USKFC'.

"I see them." She replied steadily. "What of them?"

"Do you know what it stands for?" Ami almost screeched.

"Um…" Anna replied, biting down on a sharp retort. "No."

"Then let me enlighten you." Ami said in false friendliness. "We are the Unofficial Seto Kaiba Fan Club. The fan club of your boyfriend."

She said it with an air of grandeur, the statement was obviously designed to impress. Mitsan, however, did not look at all affected, except for a slight smirk.

Anna, unsurprisingly, was dying to laugh at the absurdity of this entire pathetic situation. However, this action would most likely get her beaten up. And one of her core beliefs was that she should avoid pain as much as possible. So she swallowed the laugh, and the smirk, as quickly as she could.

"Oh, right." She replied, not sure what to make of it all.

Annoyed even more now, Ami continued. "We used to compete to get your boyfriend, you know. But then we realised that it wouldn't work that way. So we decided to team up- we wouldn't try to ruin anyone else's chances. And we'd plan how to do it. One for all and all for one, you see. And we decided that if one of us got Kaiba, the others would back off and leave be. On our honour as USKFCs."

"Well, I'm glad you decided to work together…" Anna tried to edge away. This had gone beyond funny into the plain creepy. These girls (And at least one boy that she could see) were obsessed. Totally and utterly infatuated. The hand tightened on her arm so harshly that she had to bite back a yelp of pain. Things were getting serious.

"That's not all we decided, but more on that in a minute." Ami continued. "We couldn't believe it! We had been working for years and years, in fairness for everyone, it was all planned out, and then you turn up and you've stolen him in less then a month!"

"Ah, don't feel too bad." Anna retorted. "Communism always fails."

At this point, the arm on her elbow transferred to her neck.

_I really don't want to hurt you… _Anna thought, looking unwavering into her eyes. But Ami was too far gone to notice.

"Do you know what else we decided?" Ami demanded, tightening her hold. "That if anyone outside the club stole him from us, they would have to be… dealt with."

_Oh, she's going to _die…

"Couldn't I just join the club now?" Anna chocked out, still somehow making it sound sweet.

As one, the group of at least fifteen surged forward, screeching in anger and just waiting for the older girl to give the word.

Anna made calculations. She could probably take Ami, the one with an arm attempting, and failing, to crush her neck, but there was no way that she could take all of them.

_Run today… _She thought. She hadn't really wanted a fight anyway.

And Anna Mitsan promptly disappeared.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Things were getting very, very, freaky. Mitsan had just disappeared, into thin air. There was no way she could have run away with none of them noticing, they had had her surrounded. But she had just been there one moment, staring up at Ami, and had then disappeared.

But before that, Ami was sure the girl had winked at her. Which made her very annoyed indeed.

"She disappeared…" One girl muttered in awe.

"I told you!" Another screamed. "I said there was something odd about her! She must have magic powers! No wonder she got Seto to like her! He's cursed!"

"An evil spirit!"

"A demon!"

"Oh, shut up!" Ami yelled at them. "There's nothing to worry about! We'll get her next time…"

"But what do we do now?" Another piped up, whimpering. Many had run away in the panic and the numbers were small now. Only those more scared of Ami then spirits and demons had stayed.

"We try again." She said, eyes narrowed. "She can't hide forever. And when she does come out, we'll get her. And we won't give her _time _to disappear!"

"But I don't want any curses on my head…"

"You won't!" Ami insisted, exasperated. "She won't get time to pull anything, once I figure out what we're going to do next…"

"How about you move so people can walk?" An icy voice suggested. As one, the group turned to see the figure and icy blue eyes of the one they idolised. "Get out of here." He said, sounding disgusted.

And they went.

"Vultures…" He muttered, thoroughly racked off. Then he looked up at Azreal.

"Hi." She tried.

"Having fun?" He asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"So-so." Azreal shrugged. Which was easier said then done, seeing as she was clinging onto a lamppost, wings wrapped around it for extra grip. "I just had a run-in with your fan club." She spread her wings out, and flipped over, dropping the two or three metre drop without hesitation.

"My…_What?_" Seto demanded, feeling slightly happier when she regained her human form and it didn't look _too _much like he had been talking to a lamppost.

Azreal did not reply, looking at one of the side alleys.

"They're watching us…" She muttered. "Demon, indeed! How insulting…"

"Let's give them something to watch." Seto said, annoyed. He grabbed Azreal's hand (Not that she was complaining) and they set off at a brisk trot down the road. With his free hand, Seto made a rather insulting gesture at the alleyway.

"Seto!" Azreal tried, struggling. His grip had tightened, his knuckles white and her finger therefore turning blue as the blood drained out. He looked down and let go.

"Ouch…" She moaned, massaging feeling back into her fingers as they stopped just short of Mokuba's school. "What's with you today? You seem to hate the world even more then usual…"

"The Social Workers are coming tonight." Seto ground out.

"What?" She blinked. "But I thought they only came every few months…"

"So did I. I also thought that I was going to an important, but boring meeting tonight, but apparently this is even _more_ important. And they need me personally to be there." He growled in frustration. "Oh, what a wonderful night I have ahead of me."

"Awwww…" Azreal half-laughed. "I don't have anything on tonight, but it'll still be better then yours, I bet…"

Seto looked at her strangely. "Didn't you say you were going to the pet shop or something?"

"Oh, yeah!" Azreal remembered. "Oh well, I don't have to meet them for…" She looked at her watch in disbelief, but the hands stubbornly refused to move backwards. "Fifteen minutes ago! Crud!" She yelled, legging it off down the street. "I'll see you Seto!"

By the time he opened his mouth to reply, she was out of ear shot, and so he closed it again. That girl was just never on time…

Despite the way she had acted, Azreal was worried. It had been hard to sustain her muse form, harder then it should have been. Her powers were fading fast, far more quickly then she expected. They wouldn't last that long now.

But in that case... How long did the rest of her have?

Azreal shook her head, forcing the morbid thoughts away, and running faster.

She'd burn that bridge when she came to it.

Or something like that.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Anna skidded in next to them, and leant on a lamppost, similar to the one she had hidden on earlier, gasping to get her breath back. "Sorry… sorry…"

"What happened to you?" Tristan asked, looking at her quizzically.

"USKFC." Anna replied, straightening up. From the looks on their faces, they hadn't heard of it either. "Ne'er mind." She shrugged. "Thanks for waiting."

"Well, now that we're all here…" Téa smirked. "Let's go."

With that, Ryou headed into the animal shelter, and the others followed him.

_He's excited. _Anna thought to herself. _I suppose it's lonely living all on his own, but still… Heh. It doesn't matter how mature guys get, they're all little kids really…_

Ryou was talking to the owner.

"You'll be wanting a puppy, I take it?" She asked, leading the way into one of the back rooms.

"No," Ryou shook his head. "I'd like an older dog. It's just I live in a flat, and I need a dog that's house-trained and doesn't mind being left on it's own, otherwise it would just be cruel…"

"I see…" The owner replied. "We don't get many people wanting older dogs, you see, everyone wants the cute little puppies, but…" A dog had wandered over and was nudging her leg. "Oh, Cassie, you're too old to be pining to be picked up…" She scolded, but the small floppy-eared Labrador wasn't listening, barking excitedly at the sight of the group of strangers. She began to lick Azreal's shoes.

"Hey!" The girl protested, moving her feet but relenting, bent down and scratched 'Cassie' behind the ears before she ran off to one of the others. "Is she yours?" She asked the owner.

"She might as well be." The woman snorted. "No-one wants her, but I've always had a bit of a soft spot for her. She's a lovely one, really, but she's just living a stupidly long time. We don't have the heart to send her to anyone when she's bound to die soon. She's just too old- and that's why no-one wants her."

Ryou, only half listening as Cassie twisted under his hands, thoroughly enjoying the attention these teenagers were giving her. Suddenly, she looked up at him, the doleful brown eyes, set deep in the black fur, looked up at him.

"Fine…" Ryou muttered to her. "Don't look at me like that."

He turned to the owner. "I want her."

"Really?"

Ryou glanced down at the dog, licking Yugi as though he was a gourmet meal.

"Oh yes. I'm certain."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"See you tomorrow, guys!" Yugi called, heading up the path to his home. Anna waved, and Ryou nodded, his hands curled around the lead, and the two continued on their way.

"I didn't know you lived around this area." Anna admitted. She had always thought she lived the furthest away from the school… "I mean, I don't ever see you walking around- to school or home or whatever."

"No offence, but do you think maybe that's because you're always late?" Ryou laughed. "But I didn't know you lived anywhere near here either." They reached a three-way cross-road, and they stopped. "Well, this is me." Ryou said, pointing left.

"And this is me." Anna replied, pointing straight ahead with one arm and to the right with the other. Ryou blinked in confusion, and she laughed.

"I live down there." She indicated the road before them. "But I'm heading _this _way." She pointed to the right.

Ryou glanced where she was pointing. That road lead to the richer suburbs of town. There was only one reason she would be going there…

He bade her goodbye, and after she had satisfied herself by stroking Cassie, she hurried off to where she was headed.

And Ryou headed home, his new pet walking patiently beside him. He didn't know it, but Anna was watching them. And she could already tell that they would be two of a kind.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal hesitated on the steps. She knew where the spare key to the house was kept, and security knew who she was by now, so she would have no problem getting in on her own, but she didn't just want to burst in if the social workers were still there. So, she plumped for ringing the doorbell instead, reasoning that if Seto was busy, he wouldn't answer it.

But, a moment later, the door opened. One look at his face, and all greetings and tales about Cassie disappeared from her lips.

"What's wrong?" She asked Seto, stepping inside. He closed the door heavily behind her.

Seto considered her, how to tell her, but then gave up. It wasn't like he was going to back away from saying it because it made it seem more real. He needed to deal with it; and he couldn't keep it from her…

"I'm not his official guardian."

"What?" She blinked. "What do you mean? I thought you were!"

"So did I." Seto grimaced. "And so did they, apparently. As it turns out, when Gozaburo died, I was too young to be counted as his guardian. And since I never applied, because I didn't think I needed to…" He trailed off.

"No way…" She murmured, disbelieving. Seto gave a sharp laugh.

"Oh, yes." He continued. "And that's not the half of it. Since I am _not _his 'legal guardian' after all, every act I've done as such is illegal. Every form I've ever signed, every time I am his 'emergency contact number', I've broken the law. Unless I'm suddenly very lucky, I'm going to end up in court for taking a hostage for all these years."

Silence.

And then she blew up.

"What! That's stupid! You're his brother!"

"I know." Seto spat sarcastically. "But I'm not his _guardian_."

"Well, screw them all!" She spat venomously. "What the _hell _are these people smoking!"

"They think that if they can blame the fault on appropriate checks not being made on paper work, they can get me out of it." Seto elaborated. "But, until I make it official, at least, I can do no more acts as his Guardian…" He looked down at her. "Including looking after him. They're coming to get him in the morning, at least temporarily. And the process usually takes _at_ _least_ three months."

Azreal just looked at him. And then she really let rip.

"Those…"

Seto watched as she got angrier and angrier. He had never seen her this angry, or using language this coarse. He had seen anger itself plenty of times, mostly directed at him, but he couldn't remember the last time anyone had felt angry _for _him. It was a good job she was so annoyed anyway, because he just felt like all emotion had been sucked out of him.

Later, she would privately berate herself for yelling like that. Shouting wouldn't help anything, after all. But she was wrong. Somehow, knowing he wasn't on his own with it, gave Seto a little hope.

"Azreal…" Mokuba appeared from the living room, his face pale under his dark hair, and she stopped abruptly.

"Oh, Mokuba…" She said, slowly. She didn't say how horrible it all was, or how sorry she was that this was happening to them. She just deflated onto the bottom step of the grand old staircase. Mokuba flopped down next to her, and, after a slight hesitation, Seto sat down next to him. Azreal looked at the floor. Mokuba looked dead ahead, staring at the front door. Seto stared up at the ceiling as though the solution was written there. And they stayed that way for many minutes.

"I'm scared." Mokuba muttered eventually. "I don't want to go. I'm happy _here_, so why do I even have to! I mean…" He felt a bit silly saying it, but the words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them. "What if they don't let me come back…?"

No-one replied for some time, until Azreal suddenly sat bolt upright, and sprang to her feet.

"Well, no way are we just going to sit here feeling sorry for ourselves and breaking out the violins! We'll get this straightened out in no time! Somehow…"

There it was again. _We_. At least, even with Mokuba gone, he would not be on his own this time.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Yeek! (Yeek, not Yeerk) What are they going to do? Well, at least it's _legal _this time… I hope that was long enough to make up for the extreme lack of chapter yesterday, but w/e. Next chapter, the gang take a trip to the beach! What disasters will befall them there…? I'll give you a hint: Rubber, Quavers, and Curry Sauce. Hee hee.


	8. Curry Sauce!

A/N: Well, another day, another chapter. And it looks like we may be back in the realms of the insanely long... I had to cut stuff out again...Sigh...

Review Responses: 

**Willowind: **Only _half_ the city? Heh. Well, here's the update, enjoy it. (US KFC, indeed... _(Snorts with laughter))_

**Dragonlady222: **Hee hee... evil stalkers of DEATH! But you have to wonder, if that's the _Un_official fan club, whatever happened to the offical one? Heh heh heh...

Disclaimer: I own no more then I have in any of the other chapters...

So! In this chapter, we find something out about someone, another is still pretty confusing, one makes a promise, another is rescused.There's a swimming race and an odd pinic and... g'hey! One is owed an ice-cream!

Six: Curry Sauce

_July_

"Anna Mitsan?"

No response.

"Anna?"

Nothing.

"_Anna!_"

The girl in question jumped, suddenly straight up in her seat.

"Oh, yes sir, sorry…" she muttered sheepishly, resuming her blank staring a moment later, but this time at the ceiling rather then slumped over the desk.

"Woah…" Yugi said, from somewhere behind Téa. "She was totally zoned out, right?"

"Not even _I'm _that bad…" Joey conceded. "I wonder if something's up…"

"Now that I think about it…" Téa commented, head cupped in her hand. "She has seemed rather down these last few weeks…I'm kinda worried about her…"

"And Kaiba's looked even grumpier then usual." Tristan added.

"No," Téa shook her head, bangs whipping her cheeks. "No, that's not it… he seems more… sad. I wonder if something happened?"

"Maybe they broke up." Joey suggested, not sounding too unhappy about it.

"I wouldn't have thought so." Ryou chimed in. "She's been with him at lunch everyday, and they both disappear at the weekends, apparently. If anything, they've been spending _more _time together."

"Hmmph." Joey snorted. "Still, she should cheer up! School lets out on Friday! I wonder what's bugging her so much…"

"I bet she wouldn't tell us even if we asked." Téa sighed. "But there has to be _something _we can do to cheer her up…"

"Why don't we ask her to come with us?" Yugi suggested suddenly. "If you guys don't mind, that is…"

"That's a great idea!" Téa enthused. "Why would we mind?"

"Well, it's always just been us, and I didn't know if you'd want to include other people…"

"You included me." Ryou pointed out, leaning back in his seat. "So, for what it's worth, I don't mind."

"We mind about as much as you do, Yugi, and you obviously don't." Téa smiled. "It's a really nice idea!"

"Come on then!" Joey yelled, jumping up and getting a nasty look off his teacher who calmly asked him to keep it down. They headed across the room.

Azreal looked up in surprise as she was surrounded by her friends. Close up, she looked even worse, like she was worrying about something very important.

"Oh, hi guys." She said, falsely cheerful. _Oh no…_She thought. _They're going to ask me what's wrong, but I'm can't tell them, Seto wouldn't want me to, but I don't want to lie to them… What am I supposed to say!_

"Hey, we were wondering if you had anything planned for the first day of the holidays…" Yugi began. Azreal blinked in surprise. This hadn't been what she had been expecting…

"Um, not that I know of, unless my dad's thinking of something…Why?"

"Well, it's just that every year, on the first day of the summer-" Téa chimed in "Or the night we break up, whatever you want to call it- we all go to the beach together. It's really good fun! You should come!"

"I don't know…" Azreal began. Joey slammed a hand down on the desk.

"Do you really think we'll take no for an answer?" He demanded. "Come on, Azreal, it's Fun Time!"

"You'll have to up early, though…" Yugi warned. "We get the Night Bus at two am…"

"I'll ask." Azreal promised, smiling slightly. The bell for first period rang outside in the corridor and they headed off to their first lesson of the week. In Azreal's case, it was literature and also the only class that she didn't share with any of the others, so, at the moment, it suited her just fine. She just wanted to get out of there right then.

She growled mentally in frustration. What was _with _her? She berated herself for letting the cracks show. She knew her friends were worried about her. Hell, Azreal was worried about _herself_. And she was worried about Mokuba, and about Seto, and about what would happen when her musing powers could no longer hold up on their own… She really wanted to talk to someone, but who would understand? She had come close to telling Seto a dozen times, but he already had enough on his plate…

She rubbed her forehead in frustration. She'd have to deal with this one on her own. Not that there was much she could do about it. She had been doomed to die the moment she had moved down here, she didn't regret it for a second, but she should have known that this would happen. Not that anyone else knew. Surely her mother couldn't have known that she would die-

"Stop it." She told herself sternly.

"Stop what?" Someone asked, bewildered. Azreal looked up to see Kaho, who was also in her PSHE class, eying her in concern. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

To her relief, Kaho let the matter drop, and they continued in silence to class.

For a while, at least. When they entered a deserted corridor, Kaho suddenly stopped, and turned to face Azreal.

"You're worried." She said, smiling softly. "And not just that, you're confused. About who you are and why you came here, and uncertain about the future…Why your powers are fading so fast… what will happen when they go…"

Azreal looked at her in shock. "What? But… how…"

"So, I was right. You _are _Azreal Kiyoko after all!"

Suddenly, the ghostly shadows of wings appeared from Kaho's shoulders.

"Ssh…" She smiled, pressing a finger to her lips. "I used to live up in Somewhere… until I decided to try living down here. And I was just as doubtful as you are, though, I have to admit, my powers aren't going as fast as yours…" She looked at Azreal sideways. "There _were _some Muses that accepted you, you know. We knew your birth your fault, that your heart was in the right place, that you wanted to do well… I understood you then, and… well, I guess I understand you now. We both left our world behind, after all…"

Azreal regarded her. And suddenly, the over-whelming sensation of all the stress that had been piling up over the last few weeks, from the whole situation with Mokuba and Seto, and that horrible sinking feeling when she had realised her powers were going already; and the fact that she had found someone who might, just might, understand what she was going through, washed over her, and before she knew it, she was crying- bawling her guts out in the middle of a school corridor.

Calm as always, Kaho Bijou, the run-away Muse from Somewhere, took pity on the girl, and dragged her off to the sanctuary that was the Girls toilets.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"I just don't understand it…" She sighed in frustration. "Creativity levels are at a record low, even though we've got Muses drafted out to every little tiny case we can find, and what's more worrying is that Nothing levels are rising… Up point-zero-zero-two-one of a percent since this time last year… I wonder what's going on… What do you make of it, Millie?" Rebecca turned to face her boss, who, to her surprise was putting on her coat. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"The shop." Millierie replied. "Do you want anything?"

"You're going _Shopping_…?" Rebecca echoed indcredously.

"Firstly, the situation is not going to get any worse if I nip out for ten minutes." Millierie answered easily. "Secondly, maintenance is handled by the City Council, so pass the findings onto them and let them deal with it. And Thirdly, I have tried many things in my life… Yoga, Zen, Alcohol, Rock and Roll… and none of them, not one, has helped half as much with problems as a good old bar of chocolate."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She heard the beep as the mobile was switched off, and knocked on the door.

"Come in…" Azreal called, and Ruby entered to find her sitting cross-legged on the bed in her pyjamas, mobile phone, in it's sheep fascia, cradled in her lap.

"Hi." Azreal said to her father's wife. "Were you waiting for me to finish on the phone?"

"No flies on you, then." Ruby sighed, sitting down next to her on the bed. "Don't worry, I couldn't hear what you were saying, just your voice."

"Mmm."

"You seem to be more cheerful tonight." Ruby persevered. "We've noticed that you haven't been yourself recently, your father and I… look, I know that you don't necessarily want to talk to us, and… I don't even know if I'd understand… I mean, I won't pretend I wasn't wierded out to find that my husband was already married to someone he had forgotten about who wasn't even human, but… I've never regretted your arrival, Anna. James just loves you, and… well, you've been a blessing to this house. I just wanted to tell you that." She stood up to leave, but then Anna spoke.

"Do you really mean that?" She asked. "You think that I… that I belong here? No matter what?"

"I couldn't tell you that." Ruby replied softly. "Is that what's bugging you?"

She shook her head slowly. "Not exactly… But don't worry! I talked to someone today… Nothing's changed, not really, but I feel better about it- like I can focus on more important things again."

"Good. I'm glad."

"Oh, I almost forgot! My friends want me to go to the beach with them on Saturday… Is that okay?"

"That's fine. Goodnight, Anna."

"'Night, Ruby. Thanks…"

"Is she okay?" Doug asked instantly as Ruby re-entered their room.

"She's on the mend." Ruby shrugged. "She's going to the beach on Saturday with her friends, and I think she only skipped class because she was talking to someone about it all…"

"Oh, thank goodness." Doug sighed. "I was worried when I got that call from the school… I didn't think she'd ever start to pull herself out of this rut she seems to be in…"

"You should have more faith in her." Ruby snorted. "She's far too impatient to stay down for long. She'll work her way out of it. You have one heck of a daughter, Doug."

"I do."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal stretched tiredly, leaning against the wall lazily, and only half listening to those around her in the queue for PSHE class talk about what they were doing the next day to kick start their summer holidays. Well, she already knew what she was doing, and she was looking forward to it no end.

Suddenly, she saw Seto wandering down the corridor, coming from the direction of the office. This was not unusual, he was always getting calls at reception since the head master had still not relented on the mobile. It was more the look on his face that worried her.

Slipping away from Yugi, Ryou, and Téa, she caught up with him, and the two ducked round a corner to a small alcove containing only the door to a store cupboard.

"Tell me." She said simply, heart in mouth. Seto had not wasted any time since the visit from the social workers to become his brother's official guardian, but it was still taking a painfully long time.

"Tomorrow." Seto said. "That's it. When they give the nod or shake to me getting my brother back. And if they say no…" His eyes glittered dangerously. "I cannot promise I'll go about everything as legally as I have been."

"Yes," Azreal replied hurriedly. "We'll burn that bridge when we come to it, okay?" They stood in silence for a minute. She scrutinised Seto. She didn't think he had slept at all- even less then usual- since this entire affair began. And she just knew it was tearing him up inside. "You've been through Hell, haven't you, this past month?"

Seto didn't reply. He didn't need to. The past month had been humiliating and tiresome. He had had to endure back ground checks, and psychological analysis, and had to _prove _that he was able to look after his brother…

"Well, Mokuba's had it worse." He shrugged. "He's all smiles when we visit him, but as long as he's stuck in that damn Children's Home, it'll all be an act."

"Seto…" She replied uncertainly. "Not all places are as bad as the one you went to, you know… But you're right. Don't worry, Mokuba will be home before you know it. A real home, I mean, not a one with a capital letter."

"Hmm."

"I'll leave my phone on." She promised. "Call me when you know…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Two AM the next morning, and the NightBus Station was full, mainly weary commuters to central Tokyo. Everyone was tired, frustrated and subdued.

Except one group of teenagers and a dog, who were cheerful enough. Dressed in shorts or three quarter length trousers, they were all armed with small bags, purses, wallets, and anything else you'd expect a bunch of kids to have for a day out. One boy was attracting quite a few looks- not just because of his fame and hair, and famed hair,- but also because of the large bin liner, almost bigger then him, that he was dragging behind him.

"Okay!" Azreal yelled finally. "I dread to ask, but I have to! Yugi, what's in the bag?"

"Grandpa found it in the attic when he was looking for an antique chess set for a collector." Yugi grinned happily. "It's an inflatable rubber boat! And Grandpa says he and all his brothers and sisters used to go out in it, so it means we'll all fit- and now we can go sailing on the ocean!"

"The ocean…" Azreal echoed. "We're going to the ocean…"

"That's right!" Joey cheered. "And here's the bus!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

More than four hours, countless stops, and many complaints about the dinghy's oars later, the only travellers left on the bus climbed off, yawning and stretching stiff legs.

Téa consulted a sign that carried useful information about tides and daylight hours, and Azreal craned her neck for a glance at the ocean, but to no avail. The Bus had parked in a small indent, with miles and miles of country hedgerow, bountiful cliff vegetation stretching on and on up and down the cliff. However, to Azreal's surprise, they did not head down, but _up_.

"We're late!" Téa yelled. "Hurry guys! If we don't, we'll miss it!" She started running up the cliff, graceful on her strong, dancer's legs.

"Miss what?" Azreal asked, bewildered, as the others followed her.

"Unless you hurry, you won't find out!" Tristan replied mysteriously, taking pity on Yugi and hefting the bin liner off his smaller friend. "Just come on already!"

Azreal would never forget that run.

The sun had not yet fully risen, the cold light of dawn just beginning to light up the sky. The footpath itself was overgrown and packed in, even darker as the trees provided shade. She could not see the others through dense foliage, but she could hear their ragged breathing, and could feel the adrenaline coursing through her as she ran up and up…

Suddenly, she burst out onto a small rocky ledge at the top of the cliff, the sparse plants here a sharp contrast to the semi-jungle behind them. The outcrop sloped down gently, a sand dune down to the beach, just a thin line of sand crawling from the ocean at this time of the day.

But it was the ocean itself that made them even more breathless then the run.

The sun was just rising, early-morning mist still clinging determinedly to the crests of the waves, which still glittered in the sunlight, the reflection of the awakening sun spreading over the entire horizon.

Azreal stood and gaped in silent awe.

"And this," Téa said quietly. "Is part of the reason we come here so early. The other part is that the beach'll be packed later on…"

"It's…" Azreal tried, but no adequate words would come.

"I take it you've never seen a sunrise on the sea before?" Tristan asked, laughing at her expression.

"I've never seen the ocean before, full stop." Azreal replied, not noticing their mouths falling open. "I mean, I've seen pictures and films and things, but it's not just what you see and hear… You can smell it and feel it on your skin and taste the salt in your mouth… I knew it was big, but it's… so big. Like it goes on forever. And it moves. Almost like it's alive…" She snapped out of her dream-like trance, enthralled by the body of water, when she saw their faces.

"What?" She asked.

"You've never been to the beach?" Joey screeched in disbelief.

"I grew up on a _floating city_. You don't get many beaches in floating cities. Or snow. Or any other weather for that matter." She pointed out. "They had a lake up in Wherever once, but they couldn't make the water move like that. And sand was too expensive to import, so they used fake stuff. It gave you the most terrible rashes on your feet. Opal and Garnet and Ruby still have the scars. By the time I got there, though, they had given up and concreted over the lot. And only the best Muses got jobs on the coast, so… Up till now, the biggest body of water I'd ever seen was the weir by the Night Market."

"You really haven't been to the beach?" Téa had to ask. Surely, Azreal had to be pulling her leg…

"So you've never built a sandcastle?"

"Or swum in the sea?"

"Or been surfing? Or body-boarding?"

"Or played cricket in the sand?"

They all looked at him.

"What?" Ryou said defensively. "That's what's people do on the beaches in England! You couldn't go a metre without bumping into some family playing cricket! Balls flying everywhere… It was all a terrible mess." (A/N: This is true. I have sustained more then one cricket-induced bruise. Not that I'm that into cricket myself, I don't get it- I just want to win the Ashes. But the nation as a whole seems to have gone cricket mad recently. I mean, take the London Bombs. When Big Brother did not tell the seven locked in the House right away, there was a national outcry. But at the Aston cricket ground, half way through a match, the audience and the players didn't hear anything about it until the game was over… four hours later. And everyone thought that this was perfectly acceptable, even thought they hadn't with Big Brother. It's crazy…)

"Right." Joey dismissed. "So, anyway, I think we should make this day one of Azreal's best!" The others echoed agreement enthusiastically.

"We are going to show you one very fun day." Tristan insisted.

"I actually quite envy you, never being to the sea before." Téa said suddenly.

"Huh?" Azreal blinked. "But I've missed out on such a lot."

"Yes…" Téa nodded. "But it must be nice to experience all these things… The sea, and snow, and everything… for the first time, but being old enough to really appreciate them."

"I guess…" Azreal replied. She hadn't thought about it like that before.

"Well, let's get down there and appreciate it already!" Joey yelled, and to Azreal's surprise, he ran straight to the edge of the cliff, and staggered down the sand dune, Tristan right behind him.

After a second, Yugi began the dizzying run down the slope to, and Téa really began despairing.

"Oh, guys!" She called "Don't! You'll break your necks!" She looked desperately at Ryou and Azreal.

"Well…" Ryou shrugged. "We do this every year and no-one's broken anything yet…" With that, he ran off to, laughing and stumbling, Cassie keeping her balance much better beside him.

"They must be mad…" Téa muttered in annoyance.

"Yep." Azreal agreed.

"…You're going to run down that hill, aren't you?"

"Yep."

And with that, she went- but she grabbed Téa's arm half way to the edge. The two lost their balance about 3 metres down, because Azreal was going faster, but Téa was trying to slow down, and they ending up rolling all the way down in an odd kind of multicoloured bundle.

Eventually, they came to a halt and untangled themselves. But whilst Téa was staggering up indignantly, Azreal was laughing hysterically, trying to get the sand out of her hair.

"Not funny." Téa reprimanded the others, who had thought the undignified roll down the hill was the funniest thing they'd seen in a long time. But she was unable to keep her lips twisting into a smile, which she tried, and failed, to get rid of. Soon she was laughing to.

"I love the beach!" Azreal giggled, jumping up.

"We haven't even done anything yet…" Yugi said, laughing at her excitement.

"Then let's do something!" Azreal yelled. "It's the summer holidays! Let's enjoy them!"

"Let's go swimming, before the sea gets busy later, or the waves get bigger- it's really calm right now." Téa suggested, pulling off her t-shirt to reveal the swimming costume underneath. The guys were all doing similar things, and it was a moment later when they realised that Azreal was not.

"What's wrong?" Téa asked. "Didn't you bring a costume?"

"I did…" Azreal replied sheepishly. "I'm just not wearing it…" She pulled the rainbow-striped item out of her bag.

"There's some toilets up there." Téa pointed part way up the proper beach access ramp. "You can get changed in there."

Azreal nodded, and began to run across the sand. "Don't bother waiting!" She called "I'll be there in a minute!"

They didn't need telling twice. Those that remained ran down to the shoreline and into the ocean.

Unfortunately, it was very cold.

"Ahh!" Joey yelped. "It's been under the sun for millions of years! You would have thought it would have warmed up by now!"

The only people who seemed unaffected by the cold were Cassie, who was splashing around quite happily at their feet, and Ryou, who was out up to his waist and was laughing at them, shivering in their ankle-deep shallows.

"How can you do that!" Tristan demanded. "Just walk into water that cold?"

Ryou just shrugged, not mentioning the fact that he had always taken holidays to Scotland, learning to swim in the ocean it shared with Iceland. Then he went a little further out, bent over, and swam.

"See?" Téa called, teeth chattering as she waded out up to her waist to. "You guys are just wimps…"

"Wimps!" Joey demanded, running out to where she was and splashing her for all he was worth. Téa squealed.

Joey smirked, continuing to splash her. But then, the oddest thing happened. He felt a light tug on his legs. But before he could investigate, the tug was harder and he was forced under the water.

He surfaced, spluttering and chocking. He looked around frantically for his attacker. He knew there were Giant Squid around here, but he thought they would be further away from the shallows…

A minute later, Ryou surfaced next to him, breathing in deeply and laughing. Apparently, he found swimming under water in the sea no problem, because when Joey came after him with a lust for blood, he disappeared again, and the attack hit someone else…

They were all warm after that.

Téa swum her way, graceful as ever, through the waves, but she had no patience for it, and eventually she went back to where Joey, Tristan and Yugi were hanging around up to their waists (Or chests. Yugi _was_ rather short.)

"…surprises me." Yugi finished.

"What does?" Téa asked, joining them.

"Ryou." Yugi replied, nodding to where, about ten metres away, he was swimming back and forth, easily keeping himself straight against the current. "I mean, given his record in PE…"

"What Yugi means is, if swimming was on the curriculum, maybe Ryou wouldn't flunk PE every year." Tristan explained.

"Well…"

"It looks like he's got competition." Joey said suddenly, looking a little way up the beach to where Azreal had re-joined them and was splashing her way towards Ryou. He stopped, and, being as it was too deep to set down in, both were treading water. They spoke briefly, and then, suddenly, they turned around and swam back until they were level with the outcrop they had stood on that morning.

"Looks like they're going to race." Tristan said, and the suspicion was confirmed a moment later when Azreal called over to them that they were having a race over to where the cliff curled a little way into the bay, rocks tumbling off it, which was a popular spot for people wanting to climb rocks. First one to touch the largest rock won- and got a free ice cream off the losers. Téa and Joey both joined the line up, Tristan offered to start it, and Yugi sploshed through the shallows and scrambled up the rocks to where there ending point was, to judge who won.

"Okay…" Tristan said, glancing up to check that Yugi was ready. "After Three, then, on my mark. One…"

Azreal dug a foot into the floor to give herself a better start.

"Two…"

Joey leant forward, concentrating on his goal.

"Three…"

Ryou tensed up, ready to go.

"GO!" Tristan yelled.

Téa kicked her legs up, splashing the others and gaining a head start.

"You cheat!" Azreal yelled, catching up with her easily. Joey, the tallest of them all, was the furthest out, just half a metre behind the others, who were pretty much in a straight line, Ryou, Azreal, and Téa.

It stayed this close for all of three seconds, before Joey caught up with Téa and the two struggled to over take each other.

Not that it mattered. Azreal and Ryou had already pulled away.

Yugi shaded his eyes against the sun. There was no clear winner yet. This would be a close one.

Everyone was so absorbed in the race that none of them noticed Cassie, who had been swimming around happily enough on her own. But now, she was beginning to wonder where everyone was. Eventually, she caught sight of Yugi, standing on a rock. And as no-one else was around, she began to splash over to him, tail wagging happily.

They had nearly reached the end, just centimetres away, arms outstretched to touch the rock.

"And the winner is…" Yugi began. "Cassie?" The dog in question scrambled up onto the rock, barking, a split second before Azreal's and Ryou's fingers splayed against the rock. It would have been too close to call anyway.

The looked at him in incredulity as they scrambled up onto the rocks, and the others came and joined them.

"The _dog's _the winner?" Azreal asked. "Did she even know she was racing?"

"She was the first one here." Yugi insisted firmly. "So she's the winner."

"Fine…" Azreal laughed, offering a hand to Ryou. "A good race, anyway."

"Yes." Ryou agreed, shaking her hand. Unfortunately for him, her other hand was still wet, and she flicked it at him.

Cassie thought this was a good idea and began to shake water all over them until they were all even wetter.

And so began the second water fight of the day.

"Hey," Azreal said suddenly, about half way through. "Does the ice cream rule still stand?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

By the time they all flopped onto the beach, exhausted and soaked, it was starting to fill up, and they were getting hungry.

"I think we should get Lunch." Joey declared. "Or," He amended, looking at his watch. "Brunch. Geez, we've been here ages and it's only just coming up to midday…"

"I agree," Azreal chimed in, cold now she was out of the water and wrapping herself up in her rainbow-striped beach towel. "I'm hungry!"

"Azreal…" Yugi asked, looking at the towel. "Do you own _anything _that isn't stripy?"

She considered. "Yeah. The stuff with sheep on it."

"Hello, Lunch!" Joey insisted. "We need some people to stay here to look after the stuff, so I'll go into the town and buy us something!"

He ran off, and they watched.

"Do we really trust him in getting our lunch…?" Téa asked aloud.

"I'll go." Azreal offered, pulling a T-shirt on over her costume and slipping sandals back onto her feet. "I want to take a look at the town anyway. Hey, Joey, wait up!"

And she ran off to.

"This could be disastrous." Ryou noted a moment later.

The others nodded in agreement.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal needn't have worried about feeling out of place, walking around in just a swim suit and a T-shirt. Most people were just in swimming gear as they made their way along the shops on the front. Still, at least the actual buying and paying would be easy. They had all put an equal amount of money into a special 'Food Fund', so now they would all pay a fair share, and any change would be split up between them. They reached the small Co-Op on one of the back roads, and stopped to confer.

"What should we get?" Azreal asked him. "I fancy some dipper stuff…"

"Dips?" Joey wrinkled his nose. "Nah, they'd get full of sand. Let's just get some crisps or something…"

Azreal appeared not to have heard as she enthusiastically split the money, and the shop between them, sending him in one direction as she went the other.

Ryou's prediction was about to come true.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When Joey emerged from the shop a few moments later, Azreal was already there, clinging a carrier bag and messing with her phone.

"Something up?" He asked, holding a bag himself.

"No…" She sighed. "I was just checking that I hadn't missed any calls while we were in the water. Nothing."

"You're better off without phone calls from _him _anyway." Joey snorted.

"Oh, get over yourself!" Azreal yelled angrily. "I know none of you like him, and he doesn't like you guys, and I don't expect you to! But at least the others have accepted that _I _like him, and they don't keep up this grudge against him! Why can't you!"

"He's a jerk!" Joey yelled back, flaring up. "I don't care what you think, he's up to something! He could never like anyone except himself!"

"You're wrong! What about Mokuba?"

"Huh. I bet he just needs someone to take over his precious company. You don't realise it yet, but Kaiba never does anything for anyone unless there's something in it for him."

Her eyes flashed angrily. "Then you better start paying him to run your bloody website, hadn't you!"

"What…?" Joey asked, blinking.

"He's your forum master." Azreal said slowly. "He didn't know it was yours when he started, but he's the 'Webby' you love so much. So shut your criticizing mouth."

He gawped at her. She glared back.

Suddenly, the phone in her hand started to ring, and she jumped out of her skin, stamping back down on Joey's foot. Ignoring his yells, and not removing her foot, she answered it.

"Seto?" She asked, excited.

"Ouch…" Joey moaned, pulling his foot out from under hers. "That really hurt! I think you broke my foot…"

"Is that Wheeler?" Seto asked, frowning.

"Yes." Azreal replied, through gritted teeth. "But don't worry. He's in pain." She stamped on his other foot in an attempt to get him to shut up. "So, tell me, what happened?"

Seto did not answer.

"Seto…?"

He sighed. And she knew.

"Seto," She said desperately. "Listen to me. Don't do anything stupid, okay? I'll be back tonight and we can-"

"He's coming home tomorrow." Seto interrupted happily, laughing.

"Oh…" Azreal growled at the windup, but she was too happy to be angry. "Really? I mean, really, really? And it's all official?"

"Yes!"

"Wai! Seto, that's awesome!" She yelled, causing her to receive some odd looks from passer-bys. In sheer jubilation, Azreal hugged the nearest person. Which, unfortunately for Joey, was him.

Catching herself, Azreal let go, looking embarrassed. Stupid instant reactions… She turned away.

"See?" She demanded triumphantly. "I told you it would all come right in the end!"

Joey watched in utter bewilderment. One moment she'd been yelling and breaking his feet, the next she was hugging him and laughing and the picture of happiness. And what's more, he had no idea what she was happy _about_. Evidently, Kaiba had had some good news.

But was it really Kaiba who ran his website…?

He watched as Azreal talked. She sure seemed happy for him, whatever it was that had happened. And, now that he thought about it, Kaiba had been a little friendlier to everyone since Azreal had turned up…

So, what if, what if a-very-big _if_, Seto actually _did_ like the girl? And what if she actually liked him for _more _then just the eye-candy? Azreal was a friend of his, and if she was happy with this guy, even if he was the biggest jerk in the world…

She had hung up, looking elated, but a little wary of him, more so when he opened his mouth to speak.

"Fine." He sighed. "Maybe I _could _lay off you a bit. But I still don't like the guy! And if he gives me the slightest reason, I won't hesitate to punch him, even if you _do _like him! So you'd better warn him that if he wants to keep things as they are, he'd better be on his best behaviour! And-" He said, almost as an after thought. "If he does anything to upset you, he'll have me to answer to!"

"Thanks, Joey…" Azreal laughed, not mentioning the fact that the day Joey got one over on Seto would be the day when soup came ready sliced in a loaf.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"So, what did you get?" Téa asked when the two explorers returned.

"Quavers," Azreal replied, pulling out some multi-packs.

"Curry Sauce." Joey said at the same time.

They looked at each other in dismay.

"We're eating… Quavers and Curry Sauce?" Tristan echoed in disbelief.

"You said to get crisps!" Azreal said accusingly to Joey.

"Well, _you _said to get dips!" He shot back.

"I knew we shouldn't have trusted Joey…" Téa sighed, half-teasing.

"This was _not _my fault!" Joey yelled.

"Hey," Azreal interrupted. "This is actually pretty nice…" She dunked another of the cheese crisps into the curry sauce.

"I can't believe you're eating that…" Ryou said, nose wrinkled.

"Try one!" Azreal insisted devilishly. "Come on, don't wimp out on me…"

He did. And was pleasantly surprised.

From then on, from that simple mistake, came the tradition to eat Quavers and Curry Sauce on the first day of the summer holidays.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They had been the first ones on the beach, and it appeared that they would be the last ones left on it. The sun was setting now, and they were back in the sea again, but this time, in a boat. It was a bit of a squash, but Yugi didn't take up much room, so they managed it.

It was a pity none of them had rowed a boat before, but Téa and Tristan figured it out eventually, taking it in turns to row. They sat in companionable silence, having had a more normal dinner then they had had lunch, and no-one was saying much. It had been a long day, and they were all fairly close to dropping off.

_"This is it…" _Azreal said suddenly. But her voice was odd, and far away, they all looked at her. _"The ocean… Muses evolved on Earth to, you know. And all life came from the ocean… but it was different then. Back then, there was no difference between Man and Muse, there wasn't Man or Muse, they were one and the same… and if the origins are together…"_

She was leaned dramatically forward, but before anyone could even react to this odd speech, she had fallen overboard.

"I can't see her!" Téa screamed, abandoning the oar in favour of leaning over the side of the large dinghy . Yugi pulled her back before the sudden imbalance of weight caused the boat to capsize, his eyes scanning the sea.

And then, he saw her.

"Look…" He murmured.

Some distance away from the boat, illuminated in the setting sun, they could just see the faint, shimmering outline of a muse, wings held aloft, out of the water, droplets clinging to the faintest suggestion if feathers, glimmering in the light. And it wasn't just her wings. Water clung all over her body, and that was why they could see her. A figure made up completely of droplets of water.

On the wind came the faintest hints of music.

"She's singing…" Téa realised. And it was true. The song was in a language none of them knew, a melody none of them had heard… and it seemed to encompass all the hopes and despairs of the world. It stopped as abruptly as it had started, Azreal suddenly becoming human again, and, snapped out of it, Tristan grabbed the oars, and they headed over to where she remained motionless except for the necessary means to tread water.

"Heh." She laughed sheepishly, as they helped her back on board.

And no more was said on the subject.

_There's something about the ocean… _She thought. _Maybe… maybe it doesn't matter that I'm losing my powers. Because I'm here now, and maybe… I should never- Muses shouldn't- have left…_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Mokuba was in the Naughty Room.

Again.

Not that he cared. Apart from the patronising name, he had nothing against the Naughty Room. It was comfy and quiet, and they couldn't force him to 'think about what he'd done'. It was somewhere quiet, and away from the other children. The only downside was, that, if, as usual, Seto and Anna came to see him, he would probably not be allowed. It did kinda worry him that he hadn't heard from them at all yesterday. Every other Saturday, they had come to see him…

The door creaked open slowly, shaking him from his morbid thoughts. Two small faces looked in worriedly, before entering the room and closing the door quietly behind them.

"What are you two doing here?" Mokuba asked, surprised. "You know you're not supposed to come and talk to me, right?"

"You missed tea." The little girl, Sarah, squeaked. "We brought you food." She forced two, rather crumbled biscuits into his hand.

"Uh…thanks…" Mokuba replied. "Now, you better go, or they won't take you to the sea side tomorrow." He hoped they wouldn't let _him _go. Mokuba would prefer to be holed up in the home on his own then on the beach with the others.

"We wanted to say thanks." The boy, Alan, Sarah's older brother said. "You got in trouble because of us… You got into a fight because of us…"

"It wasn't your fault!" Mokuba insisted. "Don't you dare think it was your fault. It was _their _fault, for picking on younger kids! Besides-" He winked. "I'm only in trouble because I won…"

Suddenly, the dog swung open again with much more force. But, instead of the care worker he expected to see, demanding to know what Sarah and Alan were doing in there, and asking if he was ready to apologise.

But it wasn't a care worker. Standing in the doorway was his older brother, and Azreal, looking pleased with themselves.

There was silence for a moment.

"Pack your bags, Mokuba." Seto said. "We're going home."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Whee, go Mokuba! Defender of the weak and innocent! Can take on guys, plural, and come off better! And now, predictably, he's going home! If you're wondering why he was suprised to see them in the doorway, I expect he suspected they'd end up tunneling up through the floor or something. :D It's a shame, though, because Cassie didn't get her ice-cream...

Join me next chapter, which sees in Téa's birthday, exactly what's up with Az,a devious plot, and some unlikely team-work...

This can't be good...

Till then, goodbye!


	9. Life is like a Box of Chocolates

A/N: Eheheh… Anyone wondering where yesterday's chapter was, don't worry. I think I should tell that there is a perfectly good explanation.

_(Crickets Chirp)_

Meh. I hate Writer's Block. And when people turn the Power off for no real reason. And Saucepans.

And the Microsoft Paperclip, but that's another story entirely.

Still, at least I'm back now! Unfortunately, I overslept this morning, so the chapter doesn't include everything I wanted it to, which probably means you'll get a shorter chapter again tomorrow. But I figured I ought to at least post _something_, and it's a decent length, so maybe you won't kill me… If I'm lucky.

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **Mokuba is cool. Chicken Jalfrezzi is nice. I can't row. I is done responding. _(Laughs)_

**Dragonlady222: **I'm glad you liked the beach scenes... The Quaver/Curry Sauce thing was a true story, only it didn't happen on the beach, but rather Upton-on-Severn. Luckily, I wasn't there, and have not been forced to try it.

**Note: **The film at the start of this chapter, as if no-one can guess from the title, is Forrest Gump. The song later on is, as it says, I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. If there's ANYONE out there who doesn't know the song, I've oh-so-helpfully written the lyrics under the chapter, along with an URL that you just put into WMP if you want to hear the song. Unless you're **Willowwind**, and have misplaced the programme. (Just teasing. I should really stop… or one day you'll wreak your revenge… _(Shudder)_) Oh, and Ker-Plunk? If you haven't heard of it, it's very simple. There is a tube on top, and one underneath, with something like two colanders stuck together in the middle, and it all rests in a tray with different sections for each player. You poke straws through the holes in the middle section, and then dump marbles in on top. The players take turns to pull a straw out, trying not to let any of the marbles fall. The one with the least marbles at the end wins.

Disclaimer: One of these days, I'm going to figure it out how to say it in Binary… Anyways, normal rules apply.

Seven: Life is Like a Box of Chocolates…

The Feather, abandoned on the ground, was picked up by the breeze and swirled off, the Start and End of it all.

"Oh man…" Azreal sniffed, wiping her eyes. "I always cry at this film…"

"Me to…" Téa mourned, swallowing the last of her tears. "It's so sad…"

"I don't get it, man…" Joey complained. "Every time I watch this film, mom and 'Ren cry at it, and now these two! What is it with girls and this film? It's not _that _sad."

"I like it because it's funny." Ryou shrugged. "But I guess maybe it's because he _is _trying to get her for the entire film…"

"They get together in the end though," Yugi pointed out. "So it's happy, right? Well, except for the fact that she dies at the end…"

"And then he's left to bring up Little Forrest all on his own…" Tristan concluded.

Téa and Azreal, dry eyed now, watched in bewilderment as all the others were suddenly crying to.

"Well, this is disturbing." Téa commented.

"Uh-huh." Azreal agreed. "But I'm just wondering whether to get a photo for blackmail purposes…"

"…I think I'll just go and get some more crisps." Téa decided, snatching up the empty bowls.

"Think I'll come to." Azreal agreed.

It was Téa's birthday, and, just like they had done for everyone else's, the whole lot of them had piled into her house. It's just a good job her parents were away on business… They had been bowling, which had been an adventure in itself. Still, at least Azreal was familiar with it. Apparently, one of her jobs had been a guy who worked on the shoe counter. Since the company had decided he would respond best to a physical friend, Azreal had been forced to get a job there. But it was to her benefit now, as she was second only to, surprisingly, Duke- who had had to go right after. They hadn't seen much of him recently… According to Yugi, DDM was taking up a lot more time now that it was officially International.

When the two returned to the room, the guys were composed again, and looking a little embarrassed. Téa put the now full crisp bowl down on the table, and next to it…

There was a collective groan from everyone except Azreal, who blinked.

"Do we _have _to play this _every _year, Téa?" Tristan groaned despondently. "We already know who's going to win…"

"I don't get it." Azreal admitted. "What's so bad about… Ker-plunk?"

"Téa got it when she was, like, seven." Tristan explained. "And she's never lost a game."

"I know," Yugi agreed. "Most of those games were against me…"

Téa did not reply, pulling the two tubes and the round centre piece out of the box. "Just shut up and help me set up…"

As they all began to dutifully poke straws through holes, Azreal opened her mouth to ask for an explanation, but looking at the box, depicting someone pulling out a straw, and marbles tumbling down, it seemed simple enough.

Téa went first, carefully selecting a straw. No marbles came out.

Joey went next, but only got one.

Ryou just pulled out any old straw, so was surprised when only two clattered down.

Tristan managed to get five, and growled in annoyance.

Azreal wiped her hands on her jeans, and then choose a straw. No less then eight Marbles fell into her tray.

Yugi was last, and he smirked slightly when his score matched Téa's. This year, it was going to be close.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Some time later, the game was nearly over, and, after Azreal's turn, there was only one marble left, and, more worryingly, only three straws.

Yugi squinted at it closely. The straws were distorted through the plastic. But he could tell from the angle they were at that only two supported the marble-just about.

The problem was, he couldn't tell which ones.

He and Téa had gone the entire game without causing a single marble to fall down. It was obvious that the others didn't have a chance. But maybe, if he could just get the right straw, he could win… There was no guarantees he would, of course. Two straws was a very precarious balance for a marble. It might fall off anyway.

But he had to try.

"Choose carefully, Yugi…" Téa taunted. "This could be the difference between life…and death."

Yugi picked a straw. He pulled.

It _had_ been the right one, he was sure, but still, the marble wobbled, wobbled…

And fell.

"Ahh, man…" Yugi groaned, covering his head in his hands.

"Oh, don't worry, Yugi." Téa said sweetly. "We still have to count how many everyone has to see who wins…"

"You enjoy this, don't you?"

"Now let's see…" Téa continued. "That's _none _for me, One for Yugi… fifteen for Joey… seven for Tristan… ten for Ryou… and about a million for Azreal."

"Well, then!" Azreal said happily. "Looks like I won! Sorry, T."

They all blinked at her in confusion, until Yugi thought of something.

"Um, Azreal…" He said slowly. "You do realise that the object of the game is to get as _few _marbles as possible, right?"

She looked at him, and then back her section, full of marbles.

"Ahhhh, crud…" She moaned, resting her head on the table. Then she sat up suddenly. "I demand a rematch!" She declared, slamming a hand on the table. "Playing properly, this time…"

Of course, she still got twice the amount of marbles as anyone else.

"Man, you really take the mick at this game…" Joey laughed.

"Shut up." Azreal replied, tossing a cushion at him. "What do you know anyway, Mr-I-Thought-'Forrest-Was-His-Surname!"

Joey made no instant reply, grabbing a handful of cheese puffs from the bottom of the bowl.

"Sorry," He mocked sarcastically, holding one up. "I _dropped my pencil_."

Azreal took one look at him, and started to giggle.

"Well, I can't argue with that…" She laughed, holding her hands up in surrender.

"Do you ever get the feeling you're missing something?" Ryou asked Téa innocently, seeing that she wasn't laughing either.

"Yes," Téa replied. "But with these guys, I don't really mind…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Everyone had gone home, and only Azreal remained, helping Téa stack empty dishes, glasses, plates and bowls into the dishwasher. Apparently, Téa's parents didn't want her to have boys spending the night, so only Azreal was sleeping over. Téa felt it was important for her parents to be able to trust her.

So she'd chucked the guys out at five to twelve that night.

"Well, that's the lot!" Téa said cheerfully, slamming the machine door shut. "What do you want to do now?"

Azreal shrugged. "Hey, it's _your _birthday. You get the right to choose."

"Then why don't we watch another movie?" Téa suggested, picking up the box set from the counter and looking at the remaining films inside it. "How about _Shirley Valentine? _I haven't seen that one before…"

"Really?" Azreal asked, following her into the front room. "I love it. You'll like it. It's really cute and funny."

"Yeah, I heard that." Téa replied, taking the DVD out of it's box and setting up the player.

"I met one of the actors, once." Azreal commented. "Another one I had to inspire directly…"

"Oh," Téa said in some surprise. "Wasn't this film made in the early '90s, though? I would've thought they'd all be too old by the time you were inspiring to _need _a muse."

"Well, you'll see in a bit," Azreal explained "But one of the couples had a baby in the films. He was a baby. Of course, by the time I met him, he'd just finished drama school and was making a film about a teenage spy. But he couldn't do it. Despite all that training, he couldn't make the character _feel _real."

"But I bet you inspired him and got lots of creativity and made him a big star, though!" Téa grinned. Azreal laughed, embarrassed.

"Not exactly. It was my first big case… and my first big screw up. I was one of the extras on set, you see, and it never seemed like the his heart was in it. That was the first time I saw Forrest Gump, you know- I made friends with him, and he made me watch it, and then he said… 'Life is like a box of chocolates… empty, and full of other people's wrappers.'."

"That's so sad…" Téa replied, looking concerned. "What did you do?"

"Well, by this point, I kinda figured it was his mom that wanted to him to be an actor." Azreal shrugged. "I mean, _she'd_ made him act even when he was only a year or two old, and _she _sent to Stage school. I kinda guessed that maybe he was only acting because he didn't know what else to do. So I…" She turned away, slightly embarrassed. "I told him he shouldn't act if he didn't want to, and that he should go where his heart took him. The next morning, he quit, and… well, the last I heard, he had gone to college, and was studying to be a doctor."

"Sounds like you really helped him out- you made him realize he didn't have to act if he didn't want to ." Téa blinked. "Why are you embarrassed?"

"'Helping people out' comes second." Azreal laughed. "They were sympathetic to my reasoning, of course, but because of me the film was stopped, we lost another actor, and a good potential for Creativity. And Muses need Creativity more then they need a clear conscious, that's the reality of it."

"Well, _I_ think you did the right thing." Téa said stubbornly as the film began.

"Thanks, Téa."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

At about half one in the morning, half way through the film, the phone started to ring. Téa excused herself, and went out into the hall to answer it.

Azreal frowned, pausing the film for her. She didn't _mean _to listen in, but she couldn't help it…

"Hello? Oh, hi mom! Yeah, I'm having the best time! No, the guys were here earlier, but they went- it's just me and Anna now. I told you about her, remember. Yup, that's the one. She's a really nice person mom, really, don't worry! Of _course _she's not a bad influence… I wish you wouldn't worry so much. No. No! Mom! You'll have to meet her one day… Well, we just did the normal, really… Yep, I won. We watched a few movies and stuff. Oh! Mom, listen, Anna got me the _best _gift! I don't know _where _she got it…"

Azreal smiled, trying desperately to drown Téa's conversation out of her ears. At least she was sure Téa liked her present now. Just hearing the happiness in her voice made it worth it.

Almost.

The reason Téa didn't know where Azreal had got it was because the box set of the five films were not available on Earth. Movies were had to get in Wherever, so three times a year, the government would hold a kind of huge raffle for a box set like that. A month or so before meeting Seto, she had sent in a ton of postcards- she didn't care what movies were in the set, she had just wanted to win _something_, just once.

Surprisingly, she had. Now, as expected, exiles could not win prizes, and it had been given to her sisters.

Who had passed it on to her.

She was surprised when it had turned up on her doorstep a few weeks ago. More surprising was the fact that it didn't matter so much to her anymore. She had always thought it would be a sign of being accepted as a Muse if she won, but now she wasn't so bothered. She had found people who had accepted her as who she was, and that was all that mattered. She had known Téa would like the films. So, she had given it up to her.

Maybe that was a sign she was finally leaving her past behind…

Téa returned a moment later.

"Sorry about that," She said. "It was my mom. She and my dad are in England, you see, so it's only about half four in the afternoon where they are." Evidently, she did not realise Azreal had been able to hear her.

"Speaking of England," Azreal began. "Didn't you say it was Ryou's birthday next? Because I have _no _idea what to get him…"

"It's always hard." Téa agreed. Then she pouted. "Except for Yugi. He just gives him a video game from the shop. I don't know what the fascination is…"

"I didn't know Ryou was a gamer!" Azreal yelled. "Hey, does he have a DS? Does he have the remake of FF III?"

Téa looked at her.

"Sorry."

"I wonder what his old friends got him…" Téa said thoughtfully. "He _must _have had some friends before he came here. I don't think he keeps in contact with them, though…"

"Téa!" Azreal yelped. "That's it! His old friends!"

"What…?"

She explained, and, after several more movies, including Armageddon, they decided to call it a night.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"I had so much fun tonight…" Téa yawned from somewhere below her. Due to Téa's room being too small to fit two people, there was an argument over who had the sofa- Azreal thought Téa should have it because it was her birthday, but Téa insisted that that Azreal was the guest. Eventually, they played Ro-Sham-Bo for it, and Téa had ended up on the floor. "We should do this every year…" She was saying. The words tore at Azreal.

"Téa…" She said slowly. "I'm not altogether sure I'll _be_ herenext year."

"What?" Téa blinked, as they both sat up. "What do you mean? Where are you going? Back to Wherever?"

"Um…" Azreal ran a hand through her hair, wondering how to explain. "Well, you know I'm only half muse, right?"

"Uh-huh…"

"It means my Musing Powers have always been weak, and they're fading. Quickly."

"But…" Téa began uncertainly. "That just means you lose your powers, right? It's not like you were sent to your _death_…"

"I didn't think so…" Azreal replied. "Listen, Téa, Muses are a lot more stubborn then humans. We have a billion different defenses to keep alive. That's why I never get sick. Normally, it wouldn't be a problem, but my Muse half- my powers- are trying to keep themselves alive. And in order to do that… They're leeching off my human half, Téa. I keep my powers for longer, but if they keep draining me like this, then…I don't get any weaker then normal, but… it just gets shorter. Less time."

Téa looked at her in shock. "…but… isn't there _anything _we can do?"

"Not unless you know a way to kill off my Muse half completely separately to my human one." Azreal sighed. She had accepted it all, but… It made it harder when other people tried to help her.

"I'm not scared of dying, Téa." Azreal said calmly, to her friend who was standing up by now. "I just don't want to… It's great here, and I've never regretted coming. I didn't have much of a choice, but…"

"But…" Azreal was beginning to wish she hadn't told her. She knew that from now on, whenever Téa looked at her, she would see a 'dying friend'. "If coming to Earth means that you…"

"I love it here." Azreal said firmly.

Téa nodded. "I guess… but what am I supposed to think? How am I supposed to just accept…!"

Azreal shrugged. "You're going to have to, Téa. But… don't tell the others, okay? Please? I think they'd _force _me back to Wherever… They wouldn't accept I'd rather be here."

"I…" Téa replied, sounding frustrated. "I don't know what to do!" She hopped about anxiously.

Azreal couldn't help but laugh. "_What _was _that_?" She asked.

"That?" Téa replied, confused by the abrupt, and slightly inappropriate change of subject. "Just something I've been working on for Dance Class…"

"Show me."

"Um, okay…" Téa did it again, with more grace this time.

"That's some footwork." Azreal said admiringly.

"Try it!" Téa giggled.

"Okay…" Azreal said uncertainly, standing up. She tried to mimic Téa's actions, succeeding only in tripping over her own feet and crashing painfully to the floor.

"And it was going so well…" Téa giggled, helping her up.

"Ow… I think this puts an end to my dancing career…" Azreal replied, rubbing her banged elbow.

"Anna…" Téa said determinedly. "I won't tell the others. And I won't try to make you try and go back to Wherever. But you have to _promise _me that you won't give up on trying to find a way out of it yet! You have to _promise _not to give up till the very last minute!"

Azreal considered her.

"Okay then, I promise." She smiled, lying back down. "Hey, who knows, maybe I'll hang around long enough to see you on Broadway…"

"If I ever get there…" Téa replied sleepily.

"You will!" Azreal told her with such firmness that it left no room for argument. "Or you will die in the attempt!"

"Fine, fine…" She giggled. "We'll get there, both of us."

"…Goodnight, Téa."

"'Night, Az."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal stood on the sidelines, as did most of the school, watching admiringly. It seemed that almost all her friends had entered the dance competition this year, even Tristan and Ryou.

But, dancing together, Yugi and Téa were easily the best, tearing up the smoke-filled school auditorium. Azreal spotted the step that Téa had shown her at the sleepover more then once, and she saw the judges- none professionals, of course- looking as impressed as she felt.

Joey and his partner weren't doing so badly either. Joey had proved to be far more graceful then she had imagined, and he and his partner looked like they were just doing it for the sheer fun of it. They defiantly had a shot at second prize, but she didn't think they cared, as they swirled past her, laughing.

If anyone was going to win on sheer popularity, though, it would be Ryou. Surprisingly, none of the girls that usually hounded him felt particularly bitter about not being chosen as his partner, and many cries of support were going out to them. She had been quite surprised to see Ryou enter, though, and was even more surprised when he looked totally relaxed out there, confident. Maybe they taught dance as part of PE where he came from.

Azreal didn't recognise any of the other couples out there, except as faces she'd seen around the corridors. Just then, she spotted Tristan's trademark hair, and it looked like he had finally convinced 'Ribbon' he was worthwhile, because she was his partner- and looking like she regretted it as Tristan stumbled and stomped around the other dancers. She was bright red, but he didn't appear to notice, getting into it now. Azreal didn't envy her…

"Why you just standing there?" Someone asked from behind her, whispering in her ear to be heard over the music. Azreal wasn't surprised. She had known the second he had started to approach who it was. She was just surprised to see him _here_. "You should be dancing."

"I thought you hated school dances." She smiled up at Seto.

"I do." He admitted, shrugging. "But _you're _here, aren't you? And nobody should have to dance all alone…"

She laughed. "Thanks, Seto, but we can't dance right now. They're in the middle of a competition."

"To the contrary," Seto replied, a glint of mischief in his eye. "I already took the liberty of entering us." He held out a hand. "What are you waiting for? Shall we?"

She looked at him uncertainly.

"Unless you're _scared_, of course." He added, raising an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to 'I can handle anything'?"

"Is that a challenge?" Azreal asked him. He nodded. "I never back down from a challenge. As you well know…" She grumbled as they moved out onto the floor. A ripple of surprise ran through the audience. Seto Kaiba did not go to dances. And he certainly didn't _dance _in them. Only the other dancers hadn't realised they were there.

Yet, there he was.

And he happened to be rather good.

Aerosmith's most famous song, _I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing_ from the Armageddon soundtrack was half way through when Seto and Azreal began.

"And I don't want to miss one smile, I don't want to miss one kiss…" He sang "I just want to be with you, right here with you, just like this…"

It was about this point that Azreal noticed things going wrong. Seto was good, too good, she couldn't keep up…

"Seto!" She hissed "Can't we slow down…?"

"And I just want to hold you close, and feel your heart so close to mine, and just stay here in this moment for all the rest of time…"

But it was too late. She lost her balance and span, and span, tripping through Yugi and Téa, who knocked over some more people, the room spun and twisted, and she slammed painfully into the wall.

"Oof!" She gasped, falling to the floor, the wind knocked out of her.

"Are you alright?" Téa asked, by her side in an instant. But Azreal felt so awful… she had ruined their chances, and now, as the only ones left standing, Tristan and Ribbon would win, and her hurt, and Seto had gone, leaving Téa's living room without even checking to see if she was alright…

Hang on.

"I'm still in your living room…?" She asked Téa. "Oh man! Sorry about your wall… I hit it pretty hard…"

"Um, I think you're still dreaming." Téa said, sweat dropping. "And you didn't hit my wall, you hit my _floor_. And me, incidentally."

"Huh?" Azreal wondered intelligently, before blinking and waking up fully. It had just been a dream, and she had fallen off the sofa and… "Ahh, sorry!" She yelled, scrambling off Téa's legs. The girl sighed in relief.

"Are you alright?" She asked. "You have a nightmare or something?"

"No," Azreal shook her head. It hadn't been a nightmare, just…odd. "No. I just don't think I like dancing very much."

"Oh." Téa replied, obviously not sure what was going on. "Right."

"Yeah."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Oh, Scary dream… I hope you all enjoyed that, even though not much happened. Oh well. Here's the lyrics, as promised- though you'll have to excuse me if they're a little wrong, as this is done totally from memory. Yes, I have listened to it one too many times. Same for seeing Armageddon and Forrest Gump. Oh well.

_I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing- Aerosmith_

_I could stay awake, _

_Just to hear you breathing,_

_Why do you smile while you are sleeping?_

_While you're far away and dreaming?_

_I could spend my life in this Sweet Surrender,_

_I could stay lost in this moment_

_Forever_

'_Cause every moment spent with you is a moment I treasure…_

_Don't want to close my eyes, _

_I don't want to fall asleep_

'_Cause I'd Miss you, babe,_

_And I don't want to Miss a Thing _

_Cause even when I dream of you,_

_The Sweetest Dream will never do_

_I'd still miss you babe,_

_And I don't want to miss a Thing_

_Lying close to you,_

_Feeling your heart beating, _

_And I wonder what you're dreaming_

_Wonder if it's me you're seeing_

_And then I kiss your eyes, _

_And Thank God we're there together_

_And I just want to stay with you_

_In this moment Forever_

_And ever and ever _

_Don't want to close my eyes, _

_I don't want to fall asleep_

'_Cause I'd Miss you, babe,_

_And I don't want to Miss a Thing _

_Cause even when I dream of you,_

_The Sweetest Dream will never do_

_I'd still miss you babe,_

_And I don't want to miss a Thing_

_And I don't want to Miss one Smile,_

_I don't want to miss one kiss,_

_And I just want to be with you,_

_Right here with you,_

_Just like this._

_And I just want to hold you close,_

_And feel your heart so close to mine,_

_And stay lost in this moment,_

_For all the rest of time._

_Don't want to close my eyes, _

_I don't want to fall asleep_

'_Cause I'd Miss you, babe,_

_And I don't want to Miss a Thing _

_Cause even when I dream of you,_

_The Sweetest Dream will never do_

_I'd still miss you babe,_

_And I don't want to miss a Thing_

_Don't want to close my eyes, _

_I don't want to fall asleep_

'_Cause I'd Miss you, babe,_

_And I don't want to Miss a Thing _

_Don't want to close my eyes, _

_I don't want to fall asleep_

'_Cause I'd Miss you, babe,_

_And I don't want to Miss a Thing _

URL: http/www.users. I like that song… I also like the movie.

Again, besides the point.

Join me next time, in witch we _will _have the teaming up _and _the fiendish plot- all to give Ryou his birthday present- we see the not-so-long-awaited return of Seto and Mokuba, the girl's uniform is changed… and Azreal has a brilliant idea for Seto's birthday present.

Doom is impending…


	10. Keep it Legal

A/N: First and foremost, apologies for the lack of chapter yesterday. But this time, I really DO have a good reason, and it's this: Unfortunatly, I am still, at least partly, living in reality, and part of that reality invoves my parents. Now, theywent away on a walking holiday overnight, and yesterday we decided to clean the house for when they got back. Now, I decided to tackle the spare room, and while itsavedmy mom, whohas other things to do, a week's work, it DID take most of the day. So I didn't get the chapterdone. Oh well.My parents were pleased, and we can prettyassume it won't happen again... Except on maybe the 24th,when I am round at my friend's. So I shall try to get a chapter written, and wemight see a one-day return of Update Monkey!

Waffle's YoungerSister: _(Glare) _Why can't I have a proper name...?

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **_(Sniffle)_I'm not evil... And I have about as much co-ordination as a de-magnatised compass. I can'trow. I used to eat sandwitches like that, but then wegot a different type of bread, and the crusts were manky, so I peel them off. Heh. Writing? Still no TSJOBTG...

**Dragonlady222:**... You know, I wasreally pleased when I got your review. Then I went and watched Alien, but that's neither here nor there. I think thatpeople saying they like your characeters is the best compliment ever, because it meansyou've succeded in making them 3D enough for people TO like. So thanks very much! Enjoy your holiday!

Disclaimer:010010010010000001101111011101110110111000100000011011100110111101110100011010000110100101101110011001110010111000100000010000110111001001100101011001000110100101110100001000000111010001101111001000000100101101100001011110100111010101101011011010010010000001010100011000010110101101100001011010000110000101110011011010010010000001100001011011100110010000101100001000000110000101110011001000000110000101101100011101110110000101111001011100110010110000100000001110010100010100101110001011100010111000100000

(Well, I DID say I'd do it in Binary...)

**Note: **Due to the fact that they are talking on an internet messenger program- CoughMSNcough- it will be a little like script format, worse luck. Don't ask me WHAT'S happened to Az's writing, because I know as much as you do. Anyways, here is a oh-so-helpful list of who's who:

Wings: Az, of course.

Juilliard2009: Téa. The reasoning? I think Juilliard is a school of dance. 2009? I have no idea. The year she's 18 and can go?

Trojan-Horse: Tristan. No idea why. Update Monkey's opinion was that it was a good idea, so it is.

DM: Yugi. What does it stand for?Duel Monsters? Dark Magician? Or a privatejoke...kee kee kee...

AngelAuthor: Guess. And, by the way, this would be Joey's secondarycontact. Otherwise, his friends would've realised ages ago, wouldn't they? So, this would be the onehe normally uses for the comic stuff, I guess.

And, now, Chapter 8! Seto's Worker Relation Techniques! A trail of breadcrumbs!Mokuba knows all! And a suicidal Plant!

Eight: Keeping it Legal

_Still August_

"Mokuba?" he called. No response, bar the pounding of what was, undoubtedly, another of Azreal's CDs. Curse that Stereo… giving up on ever being heard to knock on his brother's door again, Seto opened the door and walked in. Mokuba looked up from the website he was looking at in surprise, and smiled.

"Seto!" He said delightedly, pausing the music. "Are you done already?"

"I'm afraid not." The elder sighed. "But I've been interrupted. Apparently, something in the office needs my _urgent _attention." He scowled. He had finally 'rescued' Mokuba, and now he couldn't see him at all. The idea had been that that summer, Seto would work from home. Without the barrage of requests he usually got, he figured, he could get the day's work done by afternoon or early evening. Unless he got called back. Like now.

"Oh." Mokuba sighed, disappointed. "How long do you think it'll take you?"

"I don't know." Seto replied. "Needless to say, as fast as I can. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Alright." Mokuba sighed. "But take a look at this first."

"What?" Seto asked, walking over to the screen. To his horror, Mokuba had discovered Wheeler's website, and, more to the point…

"This looks exactly like the encoding on KaibaCorp's Public website!" Mokuba frowned. "I'm sure of it- this AngelAuthor guy is stealing it! But maybe you'd know better then anyone… Seto?" Mokuba looked up; his older brother wasn't saying anything.

"…It's not a problem." Seto coughed out eventually.

"But…"

"It's _not _a problem!" Seto repeated firmly. "I'll see you later, Mokuba."

"Bye…" Mokuba turned back to the screen.

Thief or not, this comic was pretty good.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It was a good job that Mokuba didn't turn that CD back on, because not twenty minutes after Seto had left did the bell go. Mokuba didn't go and answer it. It would take him ten minutes to get to the door. If it was someone important, they would phone through.

The bell didn't go again, and neither did the telephone, so Mokuba kept on reading his way through the comic's achieves. Almost fifteen minutes later, he heard a voice in the hall.

"Hello? Help me, Yo! Is any one alive, or can I steal all your stuff now?"

Mokuba knew that voice. Jumping up, he went to the door, and stuck his head out to see Azreal, holding a book and looking around in confusion.

"Anna?" He asked. She turned around, smiling.

"Mokuba! Oh, thank goodness… I was beginning to think that I was the only one alive in this place…That dude on the door said Seto was around, but if he didn't even hear the bell…"

"How did you even get in?" Mokuba asked. She gave a grin but didn't explain.

"I'm lucky to have found you." She sighed. "This place is _huge_! I was beginning to think I'd be lost _forever…_I've never been in this part before."

Mokuba laughed. "Really? This is where I sleep."

"Ah, deep within the bowels of the Mansion, the younger brother lurks…" Azreal joked in a dramatic voice, looking around his bedroom door to have a nose.

"Hey!" Mokuba said suddenly, beckoning her over to his PC. "Take a look at this webpage. Does it look familiar?"

"Of course it does." Azreal replied in bewilderment. "It's Joey's web comic."

"_Joey's_!" Mokuba echoed indcredously. "_This _is Joey's webcomic? But it's exactly the same layout as KC's website!"

"Well, I guess it figures that Seto would use the same format…" Azreal frowned in confusion, deepening when she saw Mokuba's face. "What?"

"Do you mean to tell me that this is _Joey's _comic and _Seto _builds it!" Mokuba demanded.

And then Azreal remembered that neither she nor Seto had mentioned that little detail.

Oops.

"Okay, listen up." She sighed. "Seto obviously didn't want you to know, because he hasn't told you, but as I've put me foot in it again, I might as well go the whole way. I was sent to inspire Joey to continue his webcomic, and the reason Seto was chosen was because he was the webmaster. But Seto didn't realise it was Joey's comic when he started, and then he had to carry on because it would look suspicious if he stopped. But now Seto knows it's Joey's comic, but he doesn't know that Joey knows that he's the webmaster, and Joey knows that Seto is the webmaster but doesn't know that Seto knows it's his comic, and now you know that Joey writes it and Seto keeps the site running, but Seto doesn't, so don't let on that you know!"

"Uh…" Mokuba blinked. "Okay."

"What's bothering you?" She asked suddenly. "You haven't been yourself since you got home."

Mokuba was shocked. He had tried so hard not to let it show… Not even _Seto _had noticed… "Well…" He said, mouth suddenly dry. "You know, I was really little when mom and dad died, and I don't remember much about them, or about the orphanage we were in. Really, I don't really remember much before we lived with Gozaburo. So I was expecting the Home to be really bad, you know, like Seto always says it was. But it wasn't. I mean, it wasn't as good as a real home, and some of their ruled were patronising, but they didn't treat the kids badly- and I think they loved them individually to." He paused. "And I can't help thinking that maybe it was… good that I ended up there, because it made me realise that maybe these places aren't all bad. Maybe they really _are _out to help kids. And I almost wish Seto could find that out, so he didn't hate the Care workers so much… But when I think that, it feels like I'm…" He searched for the words.

"Betraying Seto, and your home, and even your parents?" Azreal guessed.

Mokuba nodded miserably.

"Listen to me." Azreal said firmly. "That is not a betraying thought. In fact, that is a very mature thought- more then I could do, anyway. Mokuba, you and Seto went through a very tough time when you were kids. I don't understand that, and I never will, not totally, because I grew up with a family. But… look, you ended up in a bad place. Just because you realise that they're not all like that, but Seto doesn't, doesn't make you a bad person. It just means that maybe you can handle your past a little better or faster, then Seto can. So don't worry." Suddenly, Mokuba was hugging her like she had saved his life. Surprised, Azreal put her book down and hugged him back.

"This is so odd…" She laughed. "Back in April, you hated me."

"I didn't hate you." Mokuba replied, letting go. "I just didn't know you, and you didn't know me."

"What about now?"

Mokuba shrugged. "Sometimes, it seems like you're the first person since Seto who's seen me as a person rather then his little brother."

"…Anyway," Azreal began again. "I'd love to hang around and chat, but I'm supposed to be taking James out this afternoon. I just wanted to ask Seto a favour… He's working from home, right?"

"Not any more." Mokuba said glumly. "He's had to go to the Office, sorry."

"Oh." Azreal looked put out. "Oh well…"

"I can ask him when he gets back, if you like." Mokuba offered.

"No, it's okay." Azreal shook her head. "I need to ask him myself… but some nagging on your part later on might help." She winked.

"Okay." Mokuba nodded, slightly intrigued as to what she wanted Seto to do.

"Thanks. Now…" Azreal stepped out into the hallway again, and looked around. "Where's the door?"

Mokuba laughed. "Come on," he said, taking pity on her. "I'll show you."

"Thanks. I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs or something… though I don't think the maids would have liked that…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was walking home. Unfortunately, this route took her right past the KC building.

Which gave her an idea.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"With respect, Sir, that can't be it because-"

"If I valued your opinion, you would have been promoted by now. Do it."

"But sir…!"

"Do you like your job?"

"Well, yes…"

"Then I suggest you follow my instructions."

The worker hesitated. "But, if we…"

"Do as I say." Seto spat, getting steadily more and more annoyed. These people must have noticed his better mood over the last few weeks- and were thinking they could get away with more because of it.

"Nice to see you're keeping the whole worker relationships going, Seto." Someone giggled in his ear.

Seto resisted the urge to turn around. He knew she was there, but no-one else did. And he couldn't show any signs of relenting.

"I'll be back in five minutes." Seto said. "Do as I say and nothing else, and do it by the time I get back." He stomped out into the corridor, shutting the door behind him.

"You." He hissed at Azreal, who was still in hysterics. "In my office. Providing you can still walk."

She followed him through the labyrinth that was Kaiba Corp's HQ, eventually sliding into a rather posh looking lift. A moment later, she reverted to her human form, leaning against the walls, sighing. She rubbed her forehead, and straightened up a little, but did not leave the wall's support.

Neither she nor Seto said anything, but both noted her apparent weariness. Eventually, the lift glided to a halt- not that you could tell; it moved so smoothly that she hadn't been sure they'd moved at all- and the doors opened onto Seto's office, the nerve centre of one the world's biggest electronics companies.

The office was not as elaborate as Azreal had expected, but it was a world apart from the one back at the Mansion. In that one, it seemed more relaxed, with the soft lighting from the corners, and pale walls. Apart from the computer, desk, and filing cabinets, it could have been any room in the house.

This office could not have been anything but.

The walls were white, the desk tall, the chair black. It was like something from a James Bond movie. It was obviously designed to intimidate, and Azreal certainly couldn't see how Seto could stand to spend all day in such a stark room. The only relief for the eyes were the (tinted) floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out over the Domino skyline, and what had to be the best view in the city; and a malnourished looking plant in the corner. Azreal wandered over to it, couching down to see the soil below its paling leaves. This was the only thing the same as the office at the Mansion. Maybe Seto particularly liked this plant- although it looked very ordinary to Azreal.

"Goodness, Seto!" She exclaimed, feeling the dry, crumbling soil beneath it. "When was the last time you watered this? The poor thing…"

Seto laughed. "Don't worry. It's getting old. This plant is unique in it's species, in that, only when it dies does it release seeds. It's old and bedraggled now, but unless I let it die, a new one won't grow. They're very hard to take care of- they need a lot to survive. Which makes them one of the most common plants on Earth."

"Great." Azreal replied, standing up. "You keep a suicidal plant in your office."

Seto laughed. "I've never looked at it like that… I've always more thought of it as… Indestructible."

"_You_ would."

"So," Seto said, getting back to the point. "Not that I'm complaining, but to what do I owe this visit? And, more to the point, how did you manage to get in?"

"I wanted to ask you a favour." Azreal replied. "As for your security, well, I kept quiet. I don't think they were trained for invisible people."

"A serious oversight." Seto said wryly.

Azreal snorted. "Although, if I'd known you had attack dogs, I might have reconsidered."

Seto looked at her sharply. "You were attacked?"

"No, I was licked." She replied. "It would seem that dogs like Muses. It would seem we smell nice. Although, when they all started jumping on me, the guard got suspicious…"

Seto sat down on the edge of his desk, a habit he usually despised, but he didn't want to sit in the chair and make it seem like an interview.

"I see." He said eventually. "So you're telling me that you broke through my highly trained, ex-SAS security, faced my Attack Dogs, trained, however annoyingly, to attack any unknown scent, _including _inanimate objects, but escaped with no injury bar a sudden bath of dog saliva, and generally snuck around my building in the hopes that you might get lucky, and out of all the rooms in the city's biggest building, would find the one I was in… and you did it all to ask me a favour."

Azreal gaped, then frowned. "Well, of course it sounds dumb when you put it like _that_." She pouted. Seto smirked at her.

"At any rate, what is this 'favour' that you are so desperate for?"

She was lucky. People who generally came to this room asking for favours were usually booted out straight away. He even fired some, if it was obvious that they were just trying to take advantage of his 'good heart'.

She filled him in.

"And, just why, should I do that?" Seto asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because it was me that asked you?" Azreal tried, sweetly.

Seto said nothing, but his face said it all. That wasn't going to cut it.

"Okay…" Azreal sighed. "How about, if you don't, I'll follow you around all afternoon in my muse form, nagging you until you agree?" Although, judging by how tired she had felt just from the time she had spent getting in and finding Seto, she wouldn't manage it. "Also," She continued. "If you _still _don't agree, I'll just get Mokuba to do it."

Seto didn't have time to argue. He _had _said five minutes, and it wouldn't do his reputation if he was late. Like he could argue with that, anyway.

"Fine, fine." He sighed. "Now, get out of my office."

Azreal laughed, returning to her Muse shape.

"Thanks Seto. It'll mean a lot to him." He felt her slightly ghostly lips brush across his cheek, cold and warm all at once. She had never touched him as a Muse before. Certainly, a new experience.

And, she was gone.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Hurriedly, Azreal booted up the computer, waiting impatiently for it to connect. She signed in to the Instant Messenger as soon as she could, and was immediately added to the conversation.

Wings: **I ' m h e r e , I ' m h e r e !**

Juilliard2009: _It's about time, Azreal._

DM: **Yeah, what happened?**

AngelAuthor:**We've been waiting for you. Some of us still want to know what this is all about…**

Wings: **L o o k , I ' m s o r r y , o k a y ! I t t o o k l o n g e r t h e n I e x p e c t e d t o f i n d S e t o , a n d t h e n I _h a d_ p r o m i s e d t o t a k e J a m e s o u t . . .**

Juilliard2009: _Look, never mind that now. What did he say?_

Wings: **I . . . c o n v i n c e d h i m . . .**

AngelAuthor: **Wait. Are you telling me _Kaiba's _involved!**

Wings: **D e a l w i t h i t , J o e y. H e ' s h e l p i n g u s o u t . O r w i l l b e, a n y w a y. W h e n h e c o m e s o n l i n e. **

Trojan-Horse: **_Just agree, Joey, and maybe they'll explain what they're up to._**

Wings: **T h a n k y o u ! I w i l l ! **

Wings: **B w r t s g t s k f s j f h e j s a ! £ a c g p H e l o a s f s ! Q**

DM: **… Ummm…**

Finally prying James away from the keyboard, where he seemed to delight in hitting random keys, Azreal returned to the conversation and explained, both her apparent insanity and her idea. And they all liked it. And could understand why it would be useful for Seto to be there, however grudgingly.

Speaking of whom, just then, a little message popped up, telling her he had just signed in.

Wings: **G l a d y o u c o u l d m a k e i t .**

Kaiba: Let's just get this over with…

Wings: **T h a n k s , S e t o . . .**

By the time she had added him to the conversation, T éa was posting again.

Juilliard2009: _Right! So, is everyone clear on what we're doing?_

DM: **Yup!**

AngelAuthor: **Ready when you are!**

Trojan-Horse: **_I haven't got anything better to do…_**

Wings: **I w a s w a i t i n g f o r y o u g u y s ! **

Kaiba: Yes. Although I still have no idea why I agreed to this.

Wings: **B e c a u s e I a s k e d y o u , a n d y o u l o v e m e ?**

Wings:

Kaiba: Hmm, or maybe because you didn't give me much choice?

AngelAuthor: **Can you guys _please _keep your domestics private! And if you're complaining, Kaiba, then why don't you leave and do us all a favour? **

Kaiba: Since you've never had a girl friend long enough to know, Wheeler, I'll tell you:

Kaiba: That isn't a domestic. That isn't even an argument.

AngelAuthor: **Yeah, like you're an expert!**

Wings: **G u y s . . .**

Kaiba: More experience then you, and let's face it, you're not all that smart either.

Kaiba: Even if you are more in touch with your feminine side, 'Angel'…

AngelAuthor: **Yeah, well look at your screen name sometime, Mr Imaginative!**

Juilliard2009: _That's enough, you two!_

Wings: **C a n ' t y o u t w o b e c i v i l j u s t t h i s o n c e ! P l e a s e? **

Kaiba: They're right.

Kaiba: I wouldn't recommend trying to argue with me, Wheeler. I type- and think- faster, and can therefore get in far more shots then you.

AngelAuthor: **You think so?**

Kaiba: I just said. Can't you read either?

DM: … I'm just going to sit here and watch Joey get slaughtered…

Trojan-Horse: **_Me to… and eat cereal._**

AngelAuthor: **Hey! You're supposed to support me!**

Kaiba: They're your friends, Wheeler, not _deluded._

DM: **You're eating cereal? At this time of day?**

AngelAuthor: **At least I _have _friends…**

Trojan-Horse: **_I missed Breakfast_**.

DM: **Yeah, but that would've been _hours _ago…**

Juilliard2009: _Can we _focus _here, people! Anna? What do you want us all to do?_

Wings: **W e l l , I f i g u r e d t h a t t h e r e w e r e a f e w w a y s t o d o t h is. **

Wings: **T h e f i r s t o n e I t h o u g h t o f w a s t o g o t h r o u g h t h e s c h o o l r e c o r d s . I m e a n , t h e y m u s t k n o w w h e r e h i s l a s t o n e w a s , f o r r e f e r e n c e s a n d s t u f f , r i g h t ? A n d t h e n w e c a n a s k a r o u n d , a n d k e e p g o i n g b a c k u n t i l w e f i n d s o m e o n e.**

Wings: **W h i c h i s w h e r e y o u c o m e i n , S e t o.**

Kaiba: Let me guess. I'm to access the records.

Wings: **Y u p !**

Juilliard2009: _Just keep it legal, if possible…_

Kaiba: Fine.

Kaiba: If possible.

Wings: **J o e y , y o u ' r e l i k e a q u a s i – I n t e r n e t c e l e b r i t y , r i g h t ? S o c a n y o u g o o n a l l t h e C h a t r o o m s a n d F o r u m s a n d s t u f f a n d s e e i f y o u c a n f i n d a n y t h i n g o u t ? Y o u c a n u s e t h e B a b e l F i s h i f t h e p a g e s a r e i n E n g l i s h…**

AngelAuthor: **I'm on it!**

Gradually, they all had jobs to do… except Azreal.

She had forgotten to think of enough ways to do this so she could try to.

Oops.

Suddenly, a little message appeared in the bottom corner of the screen, informing her Ryou was now online to. And if no-one was talking to him, he'd figure they were all busy… but then why would they be signed in, unless they were up to something…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou had been signed in for all of five seconds when Azreal started talking to him. And, she was asking him how, how, _how_, cricket worked.

Being the kind person that he was, Ryou started explaining. But the second he minimised the bar or went to talk to someone else, she was saying something else. It would seem that she just couldn't get her head around the sport. Eventually, Ryou gave up, and signed out of the messenger.

At least now he could surf the net in peace.

Back at her house, Azreal made the small movement indicating 'Score', grinning. It would have been certain disaster if he had talked to Joey or someone. A disaster that had been averted.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Juilliard2009: _Just keep it legal, if possible…_

Kaiba: Fine.

Kaiba: If possible.

Seto leaned back in the chair, wondering exactly how he was going to do this. There was no doubt that he _could, _but it was a matter of deciding which method to use…

He heard Mokuba approaching the room, and quickly minimised the conversation window. Sure enough, a second later, his little brother bounded in.

"Hey, Seto!" He said. "You busy?"

"Not really…" Seto replied vaguely. "I just have a few more things to look at, and I'll be with you. Give me another hour or so…"

"No, it's just I found this in my room." Mokuba replied, waving some sort of book, with Western characters, around. "Is it yours? Actually… Now that I think about it, it might be Anna's. I think she had a book…"

"Let me see." Seto replied, taking the book from him. Yes, he had seen her getting it from Ryou a few days ago, when the group of them were in the park…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Seto watched. Azreal had been right, they were splitting up right about now to go home. He didn't know what he was doing here, standing in the sunlight by the Park Gates. But he didn't want to wait for her at her house, he knew that. She said her goodbyes, realising that she'd have to hurry home if she wasn't going to be late to meet him._

_"Hey!" Ryou called after her, catching up. "I forgot…" He muttered, embarrassed. He dug around in the insanely deep pockets of his coat, and pulled out a small book. "You wanted to borrow this, right? I, Robot?"_

_"Yeah, thanks!" she said, giving one of her oh-so-charismatic smiles. Seto slapped himself mentally. He was _not _going to be jealous. He was _not _that pathetic. She took the book off Ryou carefully. "Hey, this looks pretty old…"_

_"It is." Ryou nodded. "I won it years and years ago now- though goodness knows what for. It might say in the front…"_

_"I'll return it in a day or two." She promised. "Thanks, Ryou! Later, guys!" She raised a hand in farewell and ran, just for the fun of it, towards the gates which he stood beside. And almost right past him._

_"Wait." Seto told her, grabbing her arm. She turned in surprise, but wasn't mad at him for changing where they met. In fact, she seemed rather pleased to see him, as the surprise faded and she gave him _that _smile, the one that none of her others had a patch on, and he knew that there was nowhere he'd rather be._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Seto…" Mokuba called. "Hey, Seto, is it hers or not?"  
Seto blinked, back to reality. "Uh… yes. No. It's Ryou's. She must have been returning it."

Mokuba rolled his eyes. "Geez, Seto, you really _do _like her, don't you?"

Seto said nothing, and was hit by a sudden flash of inspiration. He flipped the front cover of the book open, and, sure enough, it _did _say in the front. Or, it had a sticker in it, anyway. Not that Seto could read it. Quickly, he accessed a instant translator.

"Mokuba." He said. "Hand me that keyboard."

"This one…?" Mokuba said in wonder, pulling the house's one and only Western Qwerty keyboard, covered in dust. Seto nodded, and hastily switched it for his regular one. And, more by matching the letters to the keys then actual comprehension, he inputted the small writing at the bottom of the sticker into the translator.

"What are you doing?" Mokuba asked, by now completely befuddled.

"Mokuba, normally I wouldn't ask you to do this, but…" He said, gaining resolve as he spoke. "I want you to get out of here."

Mokuba looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. "Fine…" He sighed, heading towards the door. "You did a good job on Joey's website, by the way…"

Seto looked round in surprise.

"How do you know-"

But Mokuba was gone.

Seto made a mental note to demand explanations later, and hit translate. It was just as he expected. Thanks to Azreal's forgetfulness, he now had a name, and address, of a school that Ryou had once attended.

A quick keyboard switch later, and he was back in business.

Kaiba: I have an address. The school's called River Bed High, in the Trent Valley.

Kaiba: Which would suggest somewhere around the River Trent.

Juilliard2009: _That was quick!_

Kaiba: And completely above-board, before you ask.

Juilliard2009: _Heh. Well, I've checked all the people search websites I know, but no-one's looking for him._

AngelAuthor: **I've just done my last forum. A lot of my fans are in Europe, so they've promised to keep an eye out…**

AngelAuthor: **This really is getting huge! I just hope it works out…**

Juilliard2009: _It will, I just know it!_

DM: **Hey! I just found someone in a Duel Monsters forum who duelled Ryou a few times in the Stoke Tournaments…**

DM: **But he doesn't remember ever seeing him with anyone except his sister and mom.**

Trojan-Horse: **_Well, I've got absolutely nowhere._**

Wings: **A n d I ' v e j u s t l e a r n t h o w t o p l a y c r i c k e t !**

Wings: ….

Wings: **W h a t ?**

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_September_

Things were changing at Domino High. Today, it was much harder to tell the difference between boys and girls purely from their clothes.

Azreal's petition came into force today.

The girls now wore the same blue blazers as the guys, and a white shirt or blouse. Many wore the black trousers, and the rest had a black skirt.

But by far more surprising was that not only had Azreal made it to school _more _then thirty seconds before the bell, keeping her head down to avoid the glares that were being sent her way from one or two of the students, but that she had made it at the arranged time. Pigs (Or sheep) had flown.

"Man," Azreal yawned, having slept in late the last 6 weeks and not used to the early start. "Poor Ryou. I mean, having your birthday on the first day back… How much does that stink?"

"Speaking of whom, here he comes." Yugi added, nodding towards the school gates, where the sun was glinting on some insanely white hair. It must have been so hard to keep clean… Téa dug in her satchel to find it, having been chosen as the least likely to lose/forget it.

"Azreal…" She said, handing it to her. "I think you should give it to him. It _was _your idea, after all…" The others echoed agreement. Azreal nodded. A moment later, Ryou joined them.

"Good morning." He yawned, before his ears were assaulted by a variety of loud birthday greetings.

"Thanks…" He said, wondering how they even knew. He didn't think he'd mentioned it before…

"Hey, Ryou." Anna said. He turned to face her.

"We got you a present, all of us together." She said, holding an envelope out to him. "It didn't cost much, but our present this year is time, effort, and a whole lot of goodwill. Hope ya like it."

Ryou took it from her, intrigued. He opened the envelope to reveal an ordinary birthday card, with five different messages in. And, on the other side…

He looked at the quizzically. No way this could be what he thought it was.

"E-mail addresses." Téa said, smiling. "We managed to find two people who were very anxious to get in touch again."

Ryou opened his mouth to say something, but no words would come.

"It took us a long time to get those!" Joey said, grinning "So ya better use them!"

"We just thought that if we couldn't give you a proper 'Happy Birthday'," Yugi added. "Maybe your old friends could."

"And we knew you'd never get in touch with them yourself, so we figured we'd do it." Tristan concluded.

"…No-one's ever given me anything like this before." Ryou admitted quietly. They watched him anxiously for some kind of reaction. He looked- and felt- a little overwhelmed. "… You guys rock!"

"Nah…" Azreal shrugged. "It just means we can guilt you into helping us out in the future. 'Hey, Ryou, remember how we got you back in touch with your old friends…?'" She laughed, and he laughed to, nervous at the prospect of talking to these people again, but also…

Excited.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: What a crummy ending. Oiy. Anyways, I'll beback soon!


	11. Love and Trees!

A/N: Okay, this is short, basically because it's half a chapter. Due to unforeseen circumstances- visiting grandparents on top of Church and youth group- I just couldn't write a full chapter before Church. But, since it was a reasonably good place to end a chapter, I figured I'd just post what I'd done for ya.

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **Hey, I bet YOU don't know how to play cricket! And you never know when it'll come in useful? Are you trying to tell me that you don't fear the Krikket Robots! How will you ever assemble the Wikket key if you don't know how to hit them for 6! There. Now nothing I say will make sense (At least to you) Either.

**Dragonlady222: **Heh. Az feels very real to me... You wouldn't believe how much fun I have chronicling her adventures- or maybe you would, seeing as I write something every day even if I don't update- and Seto's human side is what I was aiming to bring out. Humans. Their cars break down... As for Az's life, well, you read IMM, which is set about 4 years after this, so let's assume that it's fairly obvious, ne?

Disclaimer: If it ever changes, you'll be the first to know.

And now, chapter 9 with the written-at-2-am-last-night opening, in witch Az faces a difficult question, and talks to a tree!

Nine: Love and Trees!

_September_

September was well under way, and by now Summer was officially over as the leaves changed to gold in a crude imitation of the sun that had once fell upon them, and fell to the ground, swirling around in the winds or skittering around people's ankles, crunching under foot. Not many people like Autumn, with not even snow to relieve the cold winds, but Azreal was not one of them.

Pulling her coat closer to her, she continued through all this beauty in the morning rush to school, until she saw something that made her stop dead.

Above her, there was a small hole in the grey clouds, only small, but sunlight was pouring through, highlighting all the peaks and swirls of the clouds around it. They weren't flat after all… they were thick, and full of shapes and patterns, hanging over the World, like God's answer to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Azreal smiled. There it was. Living proof of hope in darkness.

"You know," Someone said, almost conversationally. "If you keep standing there, you'll be even later then you were going to be already…" Seto moved aside, and let her into the car. "I have to admit, though, it is pretty…"

"Yes." Azreal agreed, greeting him and Mokuba. "It is."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They pulled up at the school just before the bell rang, climbed out, and prepared to join the flow of students towards the door.

"We're going to cause a stir, walking in together." Azreal commented, pausing at the gates. People had already spotted her getting out of his car. Who knows what nasty rumours the meaner ones would spread?

"Since when have I cared what anyone else thinks?" Seto asked her, stopping to.

"I'm just worried about another run-in with your fan club." Azreal admitted, nervously. "I mean, they're always giving me dirty looks… this might just send them over the edge. They don't think that I'm good enough for you…"

Seto considered her. It sounded like she was beginning to believe them. He knew what he _should _do, but he also knew what it would do to his reputation. And then he realised something very surprising.

He cared for her, this odd, half-human, clumsy, foot-in-mouth girl, more then he did for his reputation. Which is something no-one else had ever done.

"Then let them think that." Seto replied, stubbornly. "You're _more _then good enough for me, Azreal, and don't forget it."

And to prove it, he took her by the hand, and they walked into school like that.

Azreal knew what he was doing, of course. He was showing her that not only was he not worried about walking into school with her, he'd walk in holding her hand and showing the world that they were together. Showing that he was proud to be seen with her. She could've stopped right there and kissed him, but that would attract even more looks and they'd be late for sure. So she restrained herself to squeezing his hand gratefully. Perhaps later.

Seto didn't drop her hand until they had almost reached the classroom. One of the girls from the class noticed them, and within seconds, it was silent. By that point, they had separated, Seto to his customary position leaning on the radiator and Azreal slinking down the queue to her friends. Grudgingly, the noise started again.

"'Morning!" Azreal said, just the same as normal. Though perhaps with even more 'bounce' then usual. "Phew, just made it."

"Good morning." Ryou replied easily, as though nothing had happened. As the others stammered out greetings, she smiled gratefully at him. At least he seemed to know how awkward it was to have friends and a boyfriend who despised each other.

"Where do you get off, walking in with _him _like _that_?" Joey demanded, not beating around the bush, as usual.

Azreal felt touches of annoyance eating at her elation. "Joey, if you think we've never held hands before…"

"You were in his car to!" Joey hissed.

"Yes, he gave me a ride…" Azreal spat back, adding 'To school' quickly for the benefit of the crude-minded USKFCs that were so blatantly eavesdropping. She turned her back to them. "What ever happened to laying off us, hey?"

Before Joey could answer, the form tutor arrived and there was no more talking.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She and Joey had said no more on the subject that day. She found him so hard to understand, sometimes. What was his problem? Was it just because he didn't like Seto, and didn't like his friends being with him? Or was it just because he didn't trust Seto, and honestly thought that Seto was going to pull something?

Joey's thoughts were incomprehensible, even to him. He didn't know the answers to any of those questions, either. One more then one occasion that day, both of them had buried their heads in their hands, and wondered just what was going on.

These thoughts were, as they had been since that morning, buzzing around in Azreal's brain as she headed out of school. She was heading for a rarely used side exit that Seto had shown her. Useful in avoiding USKFCs, and it came out on the road that lead to Mokuba's school.

But today, the route was not deserted as usual. There was some people behind the bike sheds. Intending to, as always, walk right past whoever was making out, Azreal was surprised to hear Téa and Joey, arguing, and even more surprised when it seemed to be about her.

"What are you doing, Joey!" Téa was demanding. "I think you're really starting to upset her. If you don't watch out, you'll lose a good friend. What _are _you doing…?"

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself…" He replied, and, even hidden around the corner, she heard the clang as he leant up against the wall of the shed. "I don't know. I don't trust Kaiba."

"Yes," Téa said in exasperation "But Anna _does_, and we can't stop that."

"So you're happy about this?" Joey hissed. "Do you honestly think he could care about her, Téa?" He actually sounded like he was asking her opinion. "I mean, he's a jerk!"

"You know what?" Téa replied, leaning on the walls. "I agree. He _is _a jerk. But she's happy. And he's happy, I think. As happy as Kaiba gets, anyway. So stop interfering, okay? We'll be here when and _if_ she needs us."

"Hmmph." Joey sighed. "I still don't like the guy."

"Yes, and you have every right not to like him, but don't let that get in the way of your friendships." Téa replied firmly. "Because Azreal likes him. In fact, seeing them this morning, I'm beginning to think she _loves _him."

Of course, by this point, Azreal was going very red and mentally swearing that she'd never eavesdrop again.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Joey sighed. "I mean, Yugi and I were talking about this the other day. What, are we supposed to just wait around and hope he doesn't break her heart?"

"Exactly." Téa said. "You have a Big Brother Complex, you know."

"What!"

"You treat everyone like you have to look after them." Téa giggled. "We're all big girls and boys now- we're big enough to make our own decisions. Except maybe Yugi, but he's _old _enough. Okay? You have to stop trying to protect people and learn to control your temper, or people will take it the wrong way."

"Hmmph. Whatever."

"Good." Téa said, smiling grimly. "Now you just need to- Huh?"

"What?" Joey asked, straightening up.

"I thought I heard…" Téa began, looking out at the now deserted playground. She must've been hearing things; there was no-one in sight, just the gate swinging gently open on the breeze.

If possible, Azreal was even more confused now. And Téa's words wouldn't get out of her head.

_I'm beginning to think she _loves_ him…_

And did she? Was this just a relationship that would eventually, for whatever reason, end? Or was _Seto_ the person she was going to spend her life with?

_Love, _for something so pure and supposedly wonderful, sure was a scary concept. Even if she did _Love _him, how was she supposed to know? How did you tell the difference between Like and _Love _anyway?

"Arrgh…" Azreal groaned, banging her head off a conveniently placed lamppost. "All I wanted to do was date the guy! Why is this so darned _hard _all of a sudden!"

"Sounds like you've had quite a day…" Someone behind her said, sounding baffled. "But the answer is chocolate. Preferably hot and in a cup."

Azreal turned round, smiling when she saw Kaho, who seemed to have a knack of showing up when she needed someone outside her immediate circle of friends.

"You don't know the half of it." She sighed.

"Go and get Mokuba, go home, have a shower, and meet me in an hour at the café on the corner." Kaho instructed, and, with that, walked off. Although, wandered off may be a better word. Kaho was the kind of girl who looked like everywhere she arrived at and everything she did was by accident. And, she was also rather to the point.

But Azreal followed her instructions.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"She's going to kill us…"

"No she won't. She wouldn't dare."

"Well, if she did, there wouldn't be any come uppance. She's officially under the human courts. Our lot couldn't do anything about it."

"… Not literally…"

"Look, we're only doing our jobs. She can't really complain."

"It's Azreal. Are you willing to bet on it?"

"Hey, there he is! Bye, you two! Till tomorrow! Have fun!"

"And here's mine. Behave, you."

"Oh, I will…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Exactly an hour later, by some miracle, Azreal was in the café, sitting at a table with Kaho and just receiving a hot chocolate from the waiter. This was not an unusual sight. The Milk Bar was well known for doing the best milkshakes and hot chocolate in town, and there was never a day when it wasn't full of students. These two were not a rare sight, either. They would come in once every week or two, sit at the same table by the window, and talk quietly for an hour or so.

"You seem very pensive." Kaho commented, as Azreal sipped her drink, and, apparently thinking it was too bitter, started to put some sugar in. Still, at least she didn't seem so frustrated anymore… "What's on your mind?" She asked.

"It's just…" Azreal began, absently refilling the sugar spoon. "Something Téa said…"

"What?"

"She said she was beginning to think that I… loved Seto." Azreal said quietly, going red.

"She said that to you?" Kaho blinked.

"No, she said it Joey. I just overheard."

Kaho smiled. "Maybe that'll teach you to stop that nasty little habit of eavesdropping you seem to be developing."

Azreal groaned. "I know, but it made me wonder if I do… you know. And how can I tell if I do?"

"What difference does it honestly make?" Kaho replied easily. "For goodness sake, you're _fifteen_! You don't need to worry about this stuff! Just go with it and see how it turns out."

"… You're right." Azreal said, looking more thoughtful then ever. "You're right!" She repeated, more firmly.

"Yes, and I think that's quite enough sugar now." Kaho commented, giggling.

Azreal looked down at her drink in dismay. She had been absently dumping sugar in all this time, and now it was completely sodden; no more would dissolve. It would be far too sweet to drink now. Azreal pushed it away from her, laughing. "Oops."

"Now…" Kaho dropped her voice a little. "How's your… other problem coming?"

The laugh disappeared immediately, and Azreal pulled the mug back, wrapping her cold hands around it for the warmth. It was bitter outside, at this time of year.

"I still haven't figured out a way to stop my one half killing off the other, if that's what you mean." Azreal sighed. "I should never have promised Téa I'd try. Now I'm hoping to find a way out again…"

"Hope." Kaho said firmly. "Is never a bad thing."

"I guess." Azreal sighed again, smiling a little. "Heck, I _know _it's not! I don't want to die! But it's getting worse. I was in Muse Form for twenty minutes a few weeks back to break into Kaiba Corp., and I couldn't do it again for days. Today I went from the bike sheds to the school gates, and I was exhausted. But, on the bright side, it's slowing down. I mean, they're still getting weaker and weaker, but slower. They're not weakening as rapidly as they were. If it keeps slowing down like this, who knows how long I'll have?"

"That's the spirit!" Kaho enthused. "So, have you told anyone except Téa and I? Family? Friends?" She took a look at Azreal's face. "Seto?"

Azreal shook her head. "No. I only told Téa by accident. As for my family and friends… I don't think they'd understand. Besides, I couldn't do that to them. I don't want to make them miserable…"

"Stop avoiding it." Kaho instructed. "What about Seto?"

"Seto." Azreal smiled grimly. "Now, that's a harder one. I don't know what to do… I mean, I know if he feels the way I do, and then I die… I don't know what it would do to him. Especially when he's been through so much… I don't want to do that to him! I don't want to hurt him! I keep thinking I should end it with him… if he hates me, and then I do die, then it won't matter… But I can't do it! Every time I go to do it, I figure how much _that _would hurt him…" She growled in frustration. "If I go or if I don't, I'll still hurt him! And I don't want to do that!"

Kaho's eyes widened in surprise. "Don't you even _consider _dumping him!" She said. "Forget Seto for a moment, I know _you _don't want to end it- you've never been happier then with him and your friends, and neither has he! You mightn't even die yet, so don't you dare!"

Azreal was a bit taken aback. "Uh… okay… that's a load off my mind, anyway!" She finished cheerfully. "You're right, about everything! I'm just going to enjoy my time with Seto and not worry about whether it's love, or about the future! I'm just going to be happy and not worry! And hopefully Seto will be to!"

"Speaking of whom…" Kaho said, pointing over Azreal's shoulder out of the window, where Seto was walking along, not looking happy. "There he is. Why don't you go and find out why he looks so mad?"

"I…" Azreal began, then nodded. "Fine. But I'm drinking this first!" She downed the severely sweetened drink. "I need the sugar." She explained. "I've been too depressed lately. Well, see ya tomorrow!" She ran off, and Kaho saw her catching Seto up a few metres down the road, and shook her head.

Of _course _she loved him. But if it was going to worry her so much, she'd better be left to figure that out on her own.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Now you know why I'm always late."

"Oh, be quiet."

"Had to get up earlier, Seto? Or do you just not like walking with the common people."

"Ssh."

Azreal laughed. "I just can't believe that you only have one car."

"No, I only have one car that I'm willing to take to school." Seto replied.

"Oh, I see. A car for every occasion. Pity that they break down, then." Azreal giggled again at the mental image of Seto's car spluttering to a halt half way back from the office, and his walking home- leaving poor Redge to wait for who-knew-how long for the Roadside Rescue team. And now Seto was stuck walking to school like the rest of them. And Azreal found it endlessly amusing. "I'll see you later," She called, heading around to the side entrance, where the others usually hung out. Not that she was often there with enough spare time to know, but…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Morning guys…" Azreal said cheerfully. It _was _Friday after all. Only a matter of time till the weekend. "It's a new day! And I have-" Just then, she got a very funny look on her face. "Gah!"

"You have… Gah?" Joey repeated, confused.

"What's wrong?" Ryou asked, turning around to see what she was looking at, as it appeared to be behind him. But all that was there was the normal before-school rush that Anna was usually a part of.

"No, it's nothing." She replied. "I just… remembered something." She laughed. "…I'm going… over there now…" She wandered off to a lowly tree half way across the playground.

"She's arguing with the tree again…" Joey muttered, watching as she got the 'conversation' going.

"I know." Tristan replied. "But just pretend you don't notice…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"What are you doing here?" Azreal demanded of Opal, who was leaning up against the tree that Az so often used for confrontations with other Muses.

"My job." Opal replied, rolling her eyes. "Love the uniform, by the way."

"You're inspiring Ryou!" Azreal screeched. "Oh, great, now every time I try and talk to him you'll be hanging around…"

"It gets better." Opal commented. "Ruby and Emerald are on two of the other band members. It would seem they are in a rut."

"Oh, man…"

"And, you can't let on that we're here." Opal concluded.

"What!"

"We're trying a new theory. Not inspiring directly, not with on-site help, not through dreams… This is a more long-term thing. We're trying to find out if affecting their _outlook _makes any difference. But don't worry. We'll be out of your hair by Christmas."

"Christmas! How am I supposed to act normal around my friends till then!"

"Azreal, you're talking to a _tree_. I wouldn't worry about it."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Wheee, her sisters are back! At any rate, join me next time to see why the original title of this chapter was going to be 'Otherworld'!


	12. Otherworld

A/N: Well, here's what would have been the other half of yesterday's chapter- Otherworld! Which explains the crummy opening paragraph. If I had not been forced to split the chapter in two, it wouldn't have been necessary, but what you gonna do?

Review Response:

**Willowwind: **Oh, I'm getting sick of being YELLED at! You've read IMM! So use that brain I know you have and THINK! _(Calms down) _Ahhh! I updated! Don't poke me!

Disclaimer: Oh, look, a flying piggie.

And now, part two- everyone, met Blusie!

Ten: Otherworld

_September_

G&T sure was awkward today, as all three of her sisters were there, with Ryou and two of the other band members- The singer, and the Base player. Only the drummer was unaffected. It seemed that the Band had been in a rut ever since their guitarist had left the previous year, and, although replaced with the more-then-apt Ryou, they still hadn't got back into the swing of things. They seemed to think that they would never be ready for the Christmas show.

_Still,_ Azreal thought as she painstakingly tried to thread the needle. _Better them then some other random Muses that hate me. _Giving up, Azreal removed her glasses. For this job, they just got in the way- because of the angle she was at, she was always half looking through the lens and half not. She'd be better off with her own, blurred vision. She sucked the tip of the cotton, where it was fraying into individual fibres, and finally got it through. Smiling triumphantly, she put her glasses back on, and continued her stitching.

"You look like a pro at that." Ryou commented, appearing from the shadows behind her. She didn't even jump anymore, she was so used to his sudden appearances.

"Not really…" She replied, not looking up. "I just spent most of my childhood repairing clothes and toys I managed to rip."

"What is it you're making?" Ryou asked.

"Seto's birthday present…" She replied, in a tone that suggested she'd say no more. She finished the row she was stitching and looked up, and was surprised to see not only Ryou and Opal, but also Greg, the singer, with Ruby, Craig, who played both Base, electric, and acoustic guitars but preferred the Base- Emerald hanging round behind him, and Matt, the drummer.

"Um, I'm feeling slightly intimidated here…" Azreal commented, looking up at them all. "What's the matter?"

"Well…" Greg began. "We have a problem."

"And this problem is…?"

"The Christmas Show, as always." He sighed. "Here's the thing- we can do up to five songs, but we only have two that are good enough."

"Let me guess: _Amnesia _and _Paint_, right?" Azreal laughed. It was fairly obvious, being as they were the most popular.

"You got it." Greg smiled. "So, anyway, we need three more songs, and since you're always humming to yourself, we figured you were the one to ask…The other bands are looking really good this year, so we really need to be able to compete, and relate to the audience. Plus we need some that we can get good at in a few weeks."

"I-" Anna began, cut off by the bell. "I'll find some by next week, then. Leave it with me, guys."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_The following week…_

Azreal had no sooner taken her normal seat at one of the rooms large tables then the band members walked over to her, scraping chairs back, and sitting down, looking at her expectantly.

"Okay," She laughed. "Give me chance…" Digging around in her shoulder bag, she pulled out several pieces of paper, detailing Lyrics, music, and tabs. "Here's the deal…" She said, spreading them out before her. "You should open with this one- Otherworld."

Ryou blinked. "The one on Final Fantasy 10?"

Azreal grinned. "So, you _are _a gamer. But yes, it is. And the reason you should open with it is very simple- it has a good sound, and a good beat. By the time you're on, people will be half asleep. This'll wake them up, and get them going."

"How would Greg sing it though?" Ryou asked. "I mean, he doesn't have the freaky voice thing going on…"

"Ever heard _The Black Mages _version?" Azreal asked, not waiting for an answer. "You just sing it normally and it still works."

Ryou nodded.

"Then, I think you should do _Amnesia_." Azreal continued. "People like songs they know, so they can join in, but it's also relatively new, or so Ryou says. No-one's bored of it just yet."

"I get it…" Greg said. It was odd, it had never really occurred to him how tactical these things could be before…

"Uh-huh. Next up, this one." Azreal said, pointing dramatically at the second song on the table, entitled _She's The One_. "This is a nice, slow one- but not monotone. This'll get them all swaying. But just one thing…" She looked up uncertainly. "I think you should sing this one, Ryou, provided you can still play the guitar."

"But…" He stammered. "Why? I mean, I can't sing…"

"As long as you can carry a tune- which you can, because I've heard- it'll be fine."

"No offence to anyone," Craig put in "But Greg sings better then any of us. Why can't he do it?"

Azreal groaned mentally. What had she gotten herself into…? And how did she explain without embarrassing any of them too much…?

"The fact of the matter is…" She began hesitantly. "This is a romantic song. This is the kind of song that makes every person in the audience feel special. And, well… I guess you guys wouldn't know, because it's mainly in the toilets and changing rooms… but Ryou's a popular guy. And I don't mean as in he's got a larger then normal amount of friends. If Ryou gets up and sings this song, it's going to make a lot of dreams and melt a lot of hearts."

Ryou was not the only one going red. Azreal looked at the table, positively burning. At least his embarrassment was less noticeable- he was so pale to begin with…

"Right, that's fine." Greg nodded, even though Ryou hadn't yet agreed to anything. "What's next?"

Ryou groaned mentally. He saw Azreal looked as embarrassed because of having to announce all that as he did to hear it. But now he'd have to… _Why, why, why…?_

"Moving swiftly on," Azreal said instantly. "After that, do this one- _Love Supreme_. It's a just a bit of fun, so there's the 'relating to' part done. Then finish with _Paint_, which, from what I hear, is everyone's old favourite, and if you didn't play it, you'd get slaughtered."

With that, she pulled Seto's half-finished present out, and continued to work on it, and the band members thanked her and moved across the room to try the new stuff.

"That's looking good." Ryou commented emotionlessly, glancing at the mass of fabric and thread that was starting to take shape. "Are you using a pattern or something?"

"Uh, no." Azreal shook her head. "Just kinda making it up, guessing… You're going to get me for that, aren't you?"

"Just as soon as I can think of something nasty enough." Ryou responded good-naturedly. "It's a well known fact that I hate to sing in front of other people."

"As long as you're reasonably in tune, the song will carry itself." Azreal promised. "But I'm going to be paranoid for a long time now…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_And Another Week…_

"Done." Azreal announced, suddenly.

Ryou looked up sharply from where he was studying the tabs for _Love Supreme, _and saw the project in all it's finished glory, right down to the ribbon. It was surprisingly good.

"Hey, you should sell those." He said, only half-joking. "That's really good."

"I don't think I could do any other varieties, though." Azreal replied, sucking on her many-times pricked finger. "Maybe I'll give it a go, though… I just hope Seto likes it."

"I'm sure he will." Ryou replied comfortingly. _After all_, he added mentally. _Those two are as bad as each other. I'd bet he'd love anything just because she was the one who gave it to him._

"I've been meaning to ask you…" Azreal said. "How's it going with your old friends? It's been a few weeks, now, after all."

"It's great." Ryou said, smiling. "Genuinely great." The Bell rang.

"Well, that's good to hear." Azreal sighed in relief. "We were worried, you know, that you wouldn't want to get in touch with them. I bet Phoenix is pleased to."

She stood up to go, as Ryou chocked. How did she…? Ever since when he had accidentally let out that he was dating someone, he had regretted it, but had flatly refused to tell them who it was, just for privacy's sake. They weren't as obvious as Seto and Azreal had been when they were trying to hide it- they had actually managed thus far, but now Azreal knew, just like she knew everything else and just like she was-

Tripping over a chair.

Ryou helped her up, and, after she had got control of her giggles and righted the chair, they went to join Téa and Yugi for PSHE without another word on the subject.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_October_

September, as it so often tends to do, rolled on into October, bringing with it even more cold weather and the first hints of the winter to come in just a few more weeks. And, as October began to pass, the hints changed to all-out likeness. There was no doubt about it, Domino City, and, if fact, all of Honshu seemed like it was getting set for a bitterly cold few months. But, none the less, time marched on, until it was almost the end of the month. The 25th, to be precise.

Seto had sat alone, as usual, at his usual table, and had kept an eye out the whole time, but Az had not appeared yet. Perhaps she and her friends were eating outside again.

_She and her friends. _Sometimes, Seto toyed with the thought that it might almost be worth making friends with the nerd herd just to see her a little more. But then he remembered Wheeler, and the idea was squashed.

At last, she turned up, alone, walking into the canteen and hurrying over to where he always sat. She _had _already eaten, and rather hurriedly to, it seemed, judging by the tiny crumbs clinging to the corners of her mouth.

"Hi…" She said, sitting down and wiping them off. "And happy birthday!"

"Thanks." Seto smiled, as she sat down.

"I can't stop long, I'm afraid." Azreal sighed, bending down to rifle through her ever-present bag. "I have an appointment with Flitwick…"

"You're still going to see him?" Seto asked in surprise.

"Uh-huh…" Azreal responded, sheepishly. "Well, after the petition thingee, he made me go back, _again, _and I was getting peeved at him, so when he showed me the ink blots I told him each one looked like a corpse mutilated in various horrible ways. Probably not a wise move." She giggled. "He thinks I'm seriously gone in the head. And when he found out about us…" She was still digging in her bag. It was so annoying. Half the time she couldn't fit anything in, and the other half she couldn't find anything in it… "Hey, here's the leaflets he gave me!" She cried, surfacing with aforementioned leaflets. "He seemed to think you were taking advantage of me. I mean, look at this!" She flipped the top one open. "What most people don't realise is that relationships are all about _compromise. _If you don't feel you're getting what you need, then talk to your partner about it. You shouldn't feel pressured into anything you don't want to do. All the rest of the advice in this leaflet can only be followed after this is done." She looked up. "Seto," She said in mock seriousness. "I don't feel that I'm getting as much out of this relationship as I put in, and I feel like you're pressuring me into going out with you tonight. I think we need to talk about compromise." She snorted. "Whatever!" She tossed the leaflets into a nearby bin and resumed searching her bag.

"Hey, if you don't _want _to come…" Seto began in mock indigence.

"Are you kidding! I wouldn't miss it for the world! Although, I still don't understand why it's _your _birthday, yet you're buying for _me_. Seems kinda unfair…"

"Mokuba and I always go." Seto dismissed. "And neither of us saw any reason why you shouldn't join us this year. Besides, judging by that gift bag you've finally located, you've already got me a present anyway, so you needn't feel guilty about it."

Azreal laughed, pushing the metallic blue gift bag towards him. "Here. I really hope you like it… And I really have to go! See you later!" She stood up, her fingers brushing over his in the process. Seto grabbed them.

"Your fingers are cold." He frowned.

"I've noticed." Azreal replied, wryly. "It's cold outside, Seto, and I haven't been inside long enough to warm up yet. Nor have I been on Earth long enough to get around to buying a set of gloves. Wherever had a controlled climate, so…" She shrugged. "I'll see you later- I can't wait!"

She squeezed his warm fingers in her icy ones, before slipping out of his grip and leaving.

Seto stared at the innocent-looking gift bag as though that would tell him what it was. He was slightly concerned about sticking his hand in there, in case it reared up and bit him. Eventually, though, he had to, before the suspense killed him. Tentatively, he pushed a hand inside. At least the bag hadn't moved yet… His concern increased when he felt fur under his fingers, and, closing his eyes, he pulled it out.

Seto gave an audible sigh of relief when he saw it wasn't alive after all, just a plush toy. A plush toy that, predictably, was shaped like his favourite Blue-Eyes- but nowhere near as impressive. This wasn't designed to look cool and make hearts weep with fear, but to look cute and make tough men cry. It had a red ribbon tied around it's neck, the bow at the back, settling over the joint where the wings joined the main body. At the front was a small, tied-on, tag.

_Dear Seto, _Az's definitive scrawl read. _This is Blusie. You better look after him, or he shall set fire to your advert-shiney hair. Love, Az. xxx_

Seto stared down indcredously at his new teddy. Az must have hand made it… Chuckling, Seto slipped 'Blusie' into his briefcase, before anyone saw him with it. He'd have to find a better home for him later.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You have one twisted sense of humour."

"Are you complaining?"

"No. Really, he's great. _You're _great."

"Aww." Azreal smiled, as they made their way out of school. "You can be so sweet sometimes. It can't be good for y-"

"Hey!" Someone yelled, running up behind them. "You Anna Mitsan?" He demanded.

"Yeah." Azreal responded, wondering what kind of dumb question _that _was. It wasn't like there was anyone in the school who didn't know who she was- the sheep-loving weirdo dating Kaiba.

"Urgent call for you in the office." He said, and, message delivered, went to leave school himself.

"Urgent?" Azreal blinked. "Who from?"

He shrugged, and then, disappeared through the gates.

Azreal sighed. "Do you mind waiting?" She asked apologetically. The plan was that she would get a ride home, and get sorted, and he'd go back with Mokuba to do the same, and then he'd come back round for her later to go to the restaurant.

"I'll come with you." Seto said stonily.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was only on the phone for about a minute, but when she put it down, she was as white as a sheet.

"James collapsed." She said in a small voice. "He's been taken to hospital."

"…Come on." Seto said, taking her by the arm. "We'll take you in the car."

"I'm sorry." Azreal offered lamely. "This was supposed to be your birthday, and now I'm going to ruin it…"

"Don't say that." Seto told her. "You don't even know what's wrong with him yet. And with a kid that young, more then likely it's nothing. I know, I've pretty much brought one up."

Azreal smiled briefly, but it didn't hang around long. They climbed into the car, and once Seto had told Redge where they wanted to go, the drive was silent.

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A/N: Dun dun dunnnnnnnnn! Join me next time! Or I shall send Blusie to eat your plot bunnies!


	13. Birthdays are Funny Things

A/N: I'm back! And I apologise about the delay, there's been a lot on, but I'm going to try and get back into the swing of things for what remains of the holidays!

Review Responses:

**Gothic-Ember: **Wheeeee! New Reviewer! (Thanks for reviewing **AfI** to, btw.) I don't know how you managed to find my despondant little stories, but I'm glad you like them! AndI want a Blusiealso!I used to make loads of ragdolls when I was little... they were all small and ugly, though.Well, you can have an imaginary Blusie, if you want..._(Passes Imaginary Blusie)_

**Willowwind: **I isn't mad at you... I'm sorry I yelled... _(Sniffle) _Here! You can have an imaginary Blu- _(Realises she is out of Imaginary Blusies by now) _Hmm, I should start selling those things... Oh well!Here! Have an imaginary Cornish Pasty instead:-) I have Cheese and Bacon or Tradional...

**Dragonlady222: **I'm glad you are enjoying/ you enjoyed your holiday! I just hadto wonder what Seto would think about having to walk like everyone else... I didn't think he'd be too happy... And I think that maybe I'm a bitmean to Az- you're right, everything does go wrong... Oh well, there'll be some relief next chapter for her, promise! The Kaiba brothers, however...I make no comment.

Disclaimer: Nope. Nothing. All I own is the very old _The War of the Worlds _soundtrack- not the new remix either. Oh, wait, that's my brothers. Well, I own a copy of the book, at least… Oh, and Az is mine. Wai!

And now, continuing almost directly from last chapter, let's round up Seto's birthday!

Eleven: Birthdays are Funny Things

Seto sat in the small plastic chair, uncomfortable, but outwardly, he showed no signs of it. In fact, as he rested his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling, he just looked like he was deep in thought. Which he was.

What a way to spend his birthday. Sitting outside a hospital room. He hadn't been sure at first whether he should wait or go. On the one hand, he didn't want to intrude. On the other hand, he didn't want Azreal to think he'd abandoned her.

So here he was. Outside a hospital room. On his birthday.

They were funny things, birthdays. There was no reason why sitting outside a hospital room on his birthday was any worse then sitting outside one on any other day. But, somehow, he still felt a little, however selfishly, disappointed.

Seto remembered how excited he had once got over his birthdays. When he was small and Mokuba was no more then a baby, when their parents were still alive. He just to count down in days and weeks, constantly reminding everyone how far away it was. Now he could hardly remember when it was, and would probably ignore it completely had it not been for Mokuba. They only really had one, two, perhaps three traditions, and Seto's birthday was one of them. They always went out, usually for a meal, together, as their small, but select, family. But this time, Mokuba had told him to bring Azreal. Not that he was complaining, but he wondered just how his brother saw his girlfriend. Did he just like her because Seto did? Or was she 'family' now to…?

Seto sat deep in incomprehensible thoughts and hazy memories for who knew how long. Finally, Azreal emerged from the room, closing the door behind her and slumping onto it.

Seto stood up, and she turned towards him. She was as pale as ever, but gave a weak smile.

"You waited all this time?" She asked.

"Evidently." Seto replied. They stood for a second in silence.

"He's going to be alright." Azreal sighed eventually. "I mean, we'd noticed he'd been off his food for a while, but we thought it was just a stomach bug…" She shook her head slightly, getting back onto the point. "Turns out, it was appendicitis. But… the doctors say that… that they'll get him into Surgery tonight or tomorrow… and take it out and… and he'll be… okay…"

Seto watched in surprise as she broke down into tears even whilst talking. He couldn't understand why- she had just said herself that James was going to be, more then likely, fine. It was also surprising to _see _her crying. She always seemed so cheerful. Except that one time, when he'd found her sitting on the side of the road…

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

_"Azreal!"_

_"Seto! What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting!"_

_"I _did_."_

_"Then why…?"_

_"I came looking for you. You cease to exist without me, remember?"_

_"Oh, thanks…"_

_"So, what's the matter?"_

_"No…Nothing."_

_"You're crying."_

_"No I'm not. Really."_

_"Don't give me that. Look, Az, I don't expect sympathy and I don't give it. But I'm asking what's wrong, and don't give me that 'nothing' lie. I'm not stupid. So, what's wrong?"_

_"…"_

_"Why are you crying, Az? Why are you solid? Can't you control yourself anymore? Give me a straight answer Azreal- What is wrong with you?"_

_"Seto…"_

_"Tell me! I just screwed up the most important meeting of my career for you! So tell me, already!"_

_"I can't! Quit asking me!"_

_"…"_

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-End Flashback-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

That time, he had just stood by, useless, and he had not been too pleased with her either. But he couldn't just stand by and watch this time. He didn't think he'd be able to forgive himself if he did. Problem was, he didn't know what to do, what to say… he wasn't good with tears. Mokuba hadn't cried for years. Seto just wasn't much of a comforter.

"Um… Don't cry?" He offered lamely, moving towards her slightly. Azreal took the opportunity to move closer to _him_, wrapping her arms around him as though there was comfort therein. She was still crying slightly- he could feel the damp on his shirt. But he didn't push her away. He wrapped his arms around her stiffly, and just held her.

Problem solved.

"Azreal…" Seto said eventually. "Why are you crying? You said yourself that he'd be fine…"

He loved to be hugging her, to be close to her, but he really was getting rather unpleasantly squashed now. And wet.

"Sorry." Azreal said sheepishly, pulling away. "You're right. I know he'll be alright, but… he just seems so little to be going under the knife, and I can't help but worry…" She looked him up and down, and gasped. "Oh, Seto! I got you all wet! I'm so sorry!"

Seto almost laughed. She seemed so disgusted with herself, so embarrassed…

"Don't worry about it." He replied. "Although, if anyone _else _tried it, I may have had to hurt them."

Azreal giggled for a second. "But still… I was being silly. He will be alright, and Dad and Ruby are going to stay with him, so he won't be all alone… I was being overly-emotional. You shouldn't have to put up with that."

"You put up with _me_." Seto responded harshly. "Even when my….brother…"

"What's up?" Azreal asked, blinking at his expression. Then she twigged. "Oh, crumbs. No, Oh great zonking loaves of Hovis…"

Seto said nothing, just setting off at a brisk rate out of the hospital, knowing that Azreal would be beside him as he went.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Mokuba's school had a strict policy about not letting the children, as they were mostly from rich or important families, walk home alone.

So when they had not been able to contact Seto, or Anna, or even Susan, they had had a problem.

Mokuba was very hungry, very bored, very frustrated and just a little worried. School had let out hours ago. Yet he was still there. And so was the poor teacher who had been forced to stay and 'supervise' him.

"Look," Mokuba tried again, desperately. "I only live twenty minutes away. I can go alone."

"Sorry, Mokuba. I can't let you do that." The teacher replied, barely sparing him a glance.

"I have a key and everything!" Mokuba protested in frustration.

"That's not the problem. I can't let you go home alone, so we'll both just have to put up with it."

"Okay, okay, here's an idea- why don't _you _walk me home, then we can _both _get home!"

"Mokuba! Just give it up! We're stuck here until we can contact someone or someone turns up!"

Mokuba sighed in frustration, blowing one of his bangs out of his face.

Seto had better have a _really _good excuse this time.

Right on que, his older brother's car spun in, at long last. Mokuba folded his arms and waited as Seto climbed out the back.

Mokuba glared at him.

"I can explain everything…" Seto said hastily.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The explanation was ample enough to make Mokuba feel a little guilty about being so frustrated, and the three of them headed back to the Mansion. Having completely missed their reservation at the restaurant, it was up to them to get their own meal. Azreal had not experienced Seto's attempted cooking, but Mokuba had.

So he offered to make something.

Azreal immediately offered to help.

Seto didn't want to be the only one left, so he said he'd help to.

Which completely defeated the object.

Seeing his face, and guessing the fate that awaited them, Azreal quickly suggested just ordering in and maybe watching a movie, thusly saving them all from the dreaded pain that was Seto's cooking.

And so it came to pass that rather then eating a beautifully presented meal in a secluded restaurant, the three ended up eating Cornish Pasties from a paper bag in front of the television set in Seto's living room.

And, for some reason, they ended up watching the original _The War of The Worlds _musical. It was, however, rather good.

Especially to take your mind off things.

Afterwards, it was really getting quite late.

"Man…" Azreal half-yawned, the stress and frustration that she had felt had been gradually ebbing away, leaving her weary and sleepy. "It's late. I'll have to go home soon, I guess… Not that anyone's home…"

"No, hang around." Mokuba said, sounding equally tired. "I still haven't given Seto his present…I'll just go get it!" He hauled himself up and went in what was presumably the direction of his room.

"What do you think he's got you?" Azreal asked Seto, smiling. He shrugged.

"Usually it's something that appeals to his sense of humour, just to see how I'll react." Seto said. "So no doubt it'll be something utterly useless."

Azreal laughed.

Seto scrutinised her.

"What?" She asked.

"You're still panicking." Seto said, matter-of-factly.

"Mmm."

"That's alright. It just shows that you love him. But don't torture yourself about it. It's a waste of time."

"Mmm…" She muttered, smiling. "You really do understand, don't you?"

Just then, Mokuba bounced back into the room, holding a small, but brightly wrapped parcel.

"Here you go!" He said brightly, shoving it into Seto's hands. "And I think you might actually _use _it this time!"

Seto raised an eyebrow, as though not thinking it likely. But Mokuba was right, it _was _something he could use. An organiser.

"Well," Mokuba laughed. "I figured _anything _would be better then the one you made…"

Seto laughed, conceding to the point. "Okay, fine, I can't make an organiser. Thanks, kid."

"Annnd…" Mokuba grinned, pulling something from behind his back. "I got you a Sunshine Buddy!"

Seto stared at the… thing… In Mokuba's hands. It was small and white, with 3 brown spots on it's stomach and a smiley face on it's overly large head. It's overly large, _moving _head. Mokuba forced it into his unresisting hands as Seto watched the head move relentlessly from Right to Left.

"I thought you could have it on your desk." Mokuba continued cheerily. "Plus it's solar powered, so you don't have to charge it!"

Azreal began to giggle as Seto stared intently at the 'Sunshine Buddy', and Mokuba joined in.

Seto placed it down on the table. "I don't know what to say." He said dryly, which made them laugh harder.

"Well, I'm going to bed." Mokuba decided, standing. "Night, Seto, Night Anna!"

"N-Night."

"Goodnight."

"I'd better get going soon to." Azreal said reluctantly, after he had left.

"Do you want a drink first?" Seto asked, equally reluctant to see her go.

"Yes!" She said, a little too quickly. "I'll come and help."

The two made their way into the kitchen where they almost silently made a cup of tea, only Azreal's quiet humming of 'Forever Autumn' to break the silence.

But they didn't need to talk. They didn't need to do anything.

"Why don't you go back to the living room?" Seto suggested, as Azreal gave yet another yawn, picking the tune up again instantly. "I'll bring it through in a moment."

The water boiled slowly, and by the time Seto had finished the drinks- which was about the extent of his cooking aptness, although he was more of a coffee person- and had taken the drinks in, she was not awake to drink them, sleeping where she sat.

Seto smiled, setting the drinks down next to the Sunshine Buddy. He knew he _should _wake her up, because she had been wanting to get home. But he didn't _want _to disturb her. Maybe he'd just let her sleep while he had his drink, and _then _wake her up. Yes. That would be a nice compromise. But he wasn't the sort of person who could just sit without getting bored, and the musical had given him the urge to read _The War of the Worlds _novel again. So, he went over to the bookcase and retrieved it. He hadn't read it in a very long time…

The cylinder was just about to open when Seto realised he had been reading the same sentence over and over. By now, he was certain 'everyone expected to see a man emerge'. More to the point, his mug was empty. So it was time to wake Azreal up… in a minute…

Of course, no-one could wake anyone up if they were asleep themselves.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Oh dear. What's going to happen when they wake up… Join me next time for that, Mokuba's advice, and Az's birthday! Yay! And, yes, I like _The War of the Worlds_. Sue me...


	14. Fireworks

A/N: Okay, there was no chapter yesterday. There was a good reason for this. The day was rather hectic and involved decorating, the discovery that computers don't work when they are not plugged in and solar-powered frogs. As a warning now, as this room is being decorated, and converted, and we don't really know about what we're going to do about internet access, updates will be irregular. Just so you don't kill me if I don't meet a deadline. Still, at least this one's long…

Review Responses: 

**Willowwind: **Teaching Seto how to cook, eh...? Hey!We should do a crossover! Yup! Ryou from TSJOBTG (Which everyone should go read, btw, cause it rocks)teaching Seto how to cook with the utensils of DOOM! C'mon! It'd be fun! XD Just kidding. I mean, what if Cassie ate Bakura Bunny!Anyhoo, if you can teach Seto how to cook, I'll be amazed. He burns everything. Even water. (Hey, he's SMART enough to do it, right?)

**Gothic Ember: **Azreal make it up to him? Hmm, now, I wonder how she could do that... Heh Heh heh... I'm sure I don't know what you mean. _(Laughs) _Wellps, hopefully you'll enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: Same as always, with the addition of 'City of Blinding Lights' being a song by U2. Lyrics at the bottom, as always.

Last time, we saw Azreal and Seto fall asleep on the sofa, and now we get to see what happened next!

Twelve: Fireworks

"Urrghmmph…" Azreal sighed, not opening her eyes for a moment. She didn't want to get up. She was so warm and comfortable, she wanted to lie here forever… Unfortunately, as it so often did, school would get in the way of that particular plan.

Still, she could lie here for another five minutes, at least. Only…

She wasn't lying down. Not exactly. Kind of slumped over to the side…

This probably wasn't good.

She opened her eyes to find that, not only had she fallen asleep on Seto's sofa (again), he had fallen asleep to, book still clasped limply in his hand. He would have some serious pins and needles in his arm when he woke up, as it seemed Azreal had been leaning on it most of the night, her head resting just as his arm ran into his shoulder.

It was odd in itself, seeing him asleep. In all the time she'd known him, she'd seen him in just about every mood, but never asleep. Never so… peaceful.

She sat up slowly, reddening, trying not to let her movement wake him. He shifted slightly, but didn't wake up.

And, right then, he looked so cute. His head rested on the top of the sofa, his mouth slightly twisted into a smile- as though his dreams were better then his reality. He was slumped in the sofa, all of his normal posture gone, and, the impossible was possible because he had…

Bed head. Or sofa head, at least. She should take some photos and flog them.

Smiling at the thought, Azreal ruefully thought that she'd better wake him up. It was still early, but she knew that Seto usually went into work for an hour or so before school. Besides, if he had spent all night on the sofa with her, he was going to be very stiff and ill-tempered when he woke up, and the longer he was left, the worse it would get. Oh, and he'd need to sort out his hair.

Taking one last look at his sleeping form- something she'd probably never see again, Azreal decided to go the less-then-subtle approach of waking him up.

"Mmph!" Seto exclaimed in surprise, waking up to find lips against his. But before he could wake up enough to return it, she had pulled away.

"Wakey, Wakey…" She teased, her voice slightly hoarse from thirst as she laughed. "It would seem we fell asleep on the sofa…"

"Huh?" Seto was still half asleep, very disorientated, and, after all, had just been woken up by someone kissing him. "Wha?"

Finding the idea of Seto saying 'Wha' absurdly amusing, Azreal left him to get his bearings and wake up properly, and went off in search of a drink. She never had had that one last night…

Unbeknownst to them, someone else had seen Seto, and her, asleep…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_November_

There was never any peace, never any quiet. Never any time to just sit and be alone, never any time to get work done, never any time to slack off. Never time to be weak, never time to be impatient, never any time to be slow. Never any time for… well, anything much.

At least, not when you had a little brother.

James had made a full recovery, and everything was back to normal in the Mitsan household.

In the Kaiba's, though…

"Seto." Mokuba tried again. Seto studiously ignored him, as he had for the last ten minutes. Fine. It was time to bring out the heavy artillery. "Seto. Seto. Seto! Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto-!"

"Stop that."

"Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto Seto…" Mokuba continued relentlessly, hardly drawing breath. But his brother would not be broken that easily. Mokuba decided to make it into a little song. "Se-tooo, Seto, Seto! Seto Seto Seto… Setooo!"

"Are you intending to stand there and do that all day?" Seto asked, still not looking around at him.

"If I have to, and beyond. We'll see who rots first." Mokuba responded, picking his song up again. For some reason known only to him, he decided to do it to the tune of _Bohemian Rhapsody, _in particular the part where it says 'Galileo' over and over again. "Set-to-o, Set-to-o! Set-to-o, Set-to-o, Set-et-et-to…!"

Refusing to admit defeat, Seto gritted his teeth and tried to continue working. He was beginning to wish he _had _gone into the office to do this…

Abandoning Queen for the moment, Mokuba just continued his tuneless song from before. "Seto! Seto! Setooooooo! Seto, Seto, Seto Seto Seto! Seeeeeeee-to! SetoSetoSeto, Seto, Seto Seto, Setttttooooo-"

Seto held up his hands in defeat, cutting Mokuba off half way through a particularly long note. He turned round on his uber-cool swivel chair.

"Yes, Mokuba?" He asked. "What is it?"

"Hey, Seto!" Mokuba responded cheerily. "Hope I'm not disturbing you!"

"Not at all."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

(A/N: Fanfiction decided to randomly cut out the stuff here, and I can't get it to stop it. Anyhoo, it was two E-mail addresses, 'To' and 'From' with the subject 'RE: Photo'. I'd type the addresses out, again, but they don't show up, so...)

Hey!

Aha, I see you finally got around to sending me a photo. I see you still haven't cut your hair… I can't imagine it any other way. Do you remember when we were kids, and people kept asking you if you were a girl or a boy, and then you got really upset…? Then Sebastian and I told you it was obvious you were a boy because you had a tractor on your jumper?

Of course you remember! That was how we met! Awww, I've embarrassed you now, haven't I? But come on, we were cute when we were… what's that word you used? Chibis?

Anyways, thanks for the picture. I've heard all about your friends, so it was nice to be able to see them- you weren't joking about Yugi's hair, either! Blooming heck, that CAN'T be natural, or they'd be trying to work out how he broke the laws of physics…

However! There's only one girl on here. You talk about two! So, where's the other one…? Or did you guys not meet her till after you took this?

It looks like you have some nice friends there, Ryou. Just don't forget you have us to!

Even if Seb is irritating. He wants the computer, NOW. He's so impatient…

Yes you are. Be quiet.

Nothing happening here. Mom's away, AGAIN, performing, I believe, 12th Night. Her very favourite. Hmm, that brings it up to, what, a whole two days we've seen her this year?

Seb's telling me to stop ranting and get off the computer. I told him this would happen if he took ICT at GCSE. I only want to E-mail you… Meh. He's so insensitive. But you understand me, right? Course ya do! I'm your oldest friend!

Well, I guess I'd better go before he starts trying to send you messages on MY E-mails again. For goodness sake, if he ever bothered to reply to the ones you send HIM, then we wouldn't have this problem…

Miss you loads!

Olivia.

P.S. We're gonna need your postal address reasonably soon. Y'know, for Christmas cards and such…

Yo! Ryou! The only reason I never E-mail you is because my oh-so-dear twin sister is always hogging the computer! Don't listen to her! Oh, I know! Call her Ollie to annoy her! _(Evil Grin) _Well, I'd better send this before she reaches the delete button! Ha! – Seb

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"It's Anna's birthday soon." Mokuba said, matter-of-factly. "I mean, today's the first. Her birthday is the fifth. And I _bet _you haven't sorted anything out yet."

"I've got her a present." Seto said, defensively.

"That's not enough!" Mokuba protested. "Look, Seto, she may be able to put up with being mostly ignored for the rest of the year, but her birthday is special! It's her special day, and you have to _make _it special!"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "And you have been an expert since…?"

"Seto, we have cable."

"I see. Not for much longer." Seto muttered, darkly. "And, for your information, I was intending to take her out. I'm just not sure entirely where…"

"Well, if you don't hurry, she'll have other plans!" Mokuba told him. "Maybe she already does! But, luckily for you, I have a plan!"

"Oh?" Seto said. "Alright, Mokuba, let's hear this oh-so-wonderful plan of yours…"

Seto was rather surprised when it _was _a wonderful plan.

"You don't mind?" He checked. It _was _one of their traditions, after all…

"Nope." Mokuba grinned. "If Anna's happy with you, you're happy. And if you're happy for once, it's worth it!"

What a great kid.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It wasn't hard for Seto to find Azreal that morning. In fact, she found him, running over to him in the queue into the form room.

"Pinch and a Punch on the first day of the month!" She chanted, doing so.

"Shall I even ask, or should I save both my breath and sanity?" Seto asked.

"Aww, it's a tradition!" Azreal pouted. "Besides, the harder you pinch and punch someone, the more you like them!"

"Then I guess Gardner's going to be beating everyone up." Seto commented drably. Azreal laughed. "What are you doing on your birthday?" Seto asked bluntly.

"Some family thing." Azreal smiled. "I'm thinking cinema. My sisters might even tag along, if they can get the night off."

"Are you aloud to take Pleasure trips down from Wherever to visit exiles?" Seto asked quietly, mockingly.

"Uh…yeah…Wherever…" Azreal kicked herself mentally. "But, it's going to be more or less right after school… James has to get to bed and all that, you know… why?"

"We are going out. And by out, I mean _out_side." Seto clarified. "I'll come and pick you up at eight, if your dad agrees, of course."

"I'm sure it won't be a problem." Azreal smiled, saying no more about it. "Where are we going?"

"Ah, it's a surprise." Seto smirked.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

As Azreal tried to find out where she was going, Seto was not the only one to have found the place. Or the event.

"I was going to see if we could all go together for Anna's birthday." Ryou finished, shrugging. "But, if she's busy with her family, I don't see any reason why we shouldn't go. I used to love it…"

"Yeah!" Joey agreed readily. "This way, we get the best of both worlds! We get to do something on Friday _and _Azreal has to have us for Christmas!"

He got told off for that one.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Now, it's time to address a very old question: Where's Duke?

The answer? Somewhere in the USA, flogging his game and getting very rich.

However, it was almost time for him to leave. Just a few more weeks…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Finally, the fifth came…_

Azreal had always loved Fridays, but this one was even better then usual. She was going out with her family, would see her friends at school, _and _was going out with Seto. As she rolled slowly out of bed, dragging the duvet down with her and lying on the floor as usual, she felt the happy feeling inside her when you just _knew _nothing could go wrong. Even the sun had come out. Still bitterly cold, but at least it had stopped raining. She lay there for a moment, half asleep. Too sleepy to get up. Too lazy to get back onto her bed. The floor would do for now.

Suddenly, her bedroom door banged open and James was jumping on her shouting something incomprehensible about birthdays.

"Morning…" She winced, pushing him off before he broke some of her bones. "Don't jump on me like that,_ especially _not before I've woken up!"

"Why are you on the _floor_!" He asked, as though it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

"So I can trap you in my duvet." She replied evenly, throwing it over him. He squealed and tried to wriggle free, but she wrapped him up easily. He was small, even for a child that would turn four in January.

"Let me go!" His giggling voice came, muffled. But however much he squirmed, Azreal kept hold of him, yawning.

"I don't think so."

"Yes! Ahhh! Let go! Let go!"

"Never!"

And so forth. If you've ever been a three year old, or had a younger sibling, you probably know the kind of noise that, down the hall, told Doug and Ruby it was about time they got out of bed.

Anna had just wormed a hand in under the blanket and was tickling James mercilessly when Doug entered. He stood in the doorway, looking bemused.

"Judging by the noise in here, it's time for breakfast." He commented.

Anna looked up in surprise. "Oh. Morning, Dad."

"Morning, Anna. Happy birthday!"

"Thanks."

"You're quite welcome. Now please untangle your brother."

"…Will do!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

After her rude awakening, Azreal was a little earlier to school then normal. But no sooner had she stepped through the gate, thinking what a lovely day it was, was the wind completely knocked out of her. When she stopped panicking, she realised it was Téa with her arms round her neck giving her a bone-crushing hug.

Which was a nice gesture and all, but she was rapidly running out of air…

Téa was saying something, but Azreal wasn't listening. It kind of took a back seat to the need for air, air, air… Her lungs wouldn't fill properly. She swatted ineffectively at Téa's back, but she didn't seem to comprehend what was happening…

Suddenly, she saw the girl being hauled off her.

"You know, she might appreciate it a little more if you didn't suffocate her in the process." Joey's voice came.

Azreal bent over, filling her lungs, laughing and wheezing all at once. Then, she straightened up.

"Thanks for the save, Joey." She chuckled. "And thank you, Téa. Thought that counts, and all. Morning everyone."

They all exchanged looks. They were all subjected to the bone-crush-birthday-hug treatment once a year.

Then came the presents. There was a lot of sheep stuff. Azreal was very happy, and a little overwhelmed. For most of her life, she'd just had presents from her family, and no-one else wanted to know, but here were these guys, celebrating with her…

It was a surreal, dream-like experience. Like the best dream ever.

"You'll get my present later…" Ryou said, positively gleefully. "After break. In G&T."

Which left Azreal more then a little apprehensive. But it couldn't be helped. She'd have to wait and see.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The first lesson of the day was gym, and, for once, the conversation in the changing room was low. One girl was very upset, sobbing. She was surrounded by her friends, and Téa, who was everyone's friend. Anna stood off slightly to one side, awkwardly.

"Don't cry." One girl said, passing her a tissue.

"I don't know why you don't just dump him." Another sniffed.

"I keep going to…" She stammered. "And then he tells me he loves me and I…" She was unable to speak.

"If he really loved you, he'd change…" Another said gently.

"And if you really loved _him, _he wouldn't need to." Anna said.

They all started at her. Even the tears dried up. Everyone was surprised. Anna didn't usually join in this kind of conversation. And what she said was a little unexpected to.

"What?" The previously-crying girl demanded.

Anna shrugged, wishing she hadn't said anything as she began to put her PE kit back into her bag. "It just seems to me that if you really loved someone, you'd love them despite their bad habits. Heck, maybe you'd even _love _their bad habits to."

"Does that mean you love Kaiba?" One girl giggled. "I bet he has a _load _of bad habits."

"Hey, hey!" Anna screamed, holding up her hands. "My relationship isn't being scrutinised here! You want to analyse something? Find out why Téa and Yugi keep going out and then- Oops."

Téa glared at her from a mass of squealing girls demanding to know if she really was dating Yugi as Azreal slipped out the room.

Although Téa didn't know it yet, she would extract her revenge for that later.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Are you _sure _you don't need any help…?" Téa asked, suppressing a giggle as Anna tried to shove all her presents into her small locker. It wasn't gonna happen. There weren't many of them, but they seemed to be rather large.

"No, it's okay." Anna gasped, pushing. "You go. No point both of us spending our entire break trying to close this door. There isn't even enough room for us both to push…"

"Okay…" Téa said reluctantly, heading out of the deserted corridor and through the doors to the playground as Anna began to pull things out of her locker and rearrange them.

A moment later, she felt, rather then saw, someone standing beside her, and turned to see Seto.

"How long have you been standing there?" She demanded.

"I only just got here." Seto promised. "It took long enough to find you." He complained.

"Ah, but was it worth it?" Azreal asked. "What's up?"

"I've got you a present, naturally." Seto replied, as though it was obvious. He pulled a slightly floppy parcel from who-knew-where and thrust it into her hands.

"You got me a… present?" Azreal repeated, almost whispering. She was blushing, though she had no idea why. She had never once blushed because of Seto before…

Well, maybe just once… _just._

"Are you going to stare at the paper or see what's inside?" Seto asked tolerantly.

"Oh! Sure!" Azreal yelped, making him laugh that laugh, the one she was reserved for when he was in private. She began to unwrap the parcel, wondering what on earth it could be… It was soft, but the wrong shape for a cuddly toy… And, as the paper came away, she could see stripes, all the colours of the rainbow…

It was a set of beautiful, rainbow gloves. And a scarf to match. On the cuffs of the gloves, and the ends of the scarf, was some embroidery. Not sheep, as though he knew everyone got her sheep. Wings. A left one and a right one. A set.

Seto felt a lump rise in his throat as she stared at them, saying nothing.

"Do you remember?" He asked, sounding lame even in his own ears. "Your fingers were cold…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+- Flashback+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Azreal laughed, pushing the metallic blue gift bag towards him. "Here. I really hope you like it… And I really have to go! See you later!" She stood up, her fingers brushing over his in the process. Seto grabbed them._

_"Your fingers are cold." He frowned._

_"I've noticed." Azreal replied, wryly. "It's cold outside, Seto, and I haven't been inside long enough to warm up yet. Nor have I been on Earth long enough to get around to buying a set of gloves. Wherever had a controlled climate, so…" She shrugged. "I'll see you later- I can't wait!"_

_She squeezed his warm fingers in her icy ones, before slipping out of his grip and leaving._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-End Flashback+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"…You really remember…" Azreal said, a lump in her throat herself. "And you really… do care, don't you?"

Seto stood motionless.

"Oh, Seto!" She threw her arms round him, right there in the corridor, and, surprised, Seto wrapped his arms around her, feeling her hair, and shut his eyes.

It was amazing, how happy a set of gloves and a scarf could make a girl.

_And a guy_, he added mentally, as they stood so close to each other. It was almost worth spending all that time trying to sew those darned wings in…

She pulled away, slightly reluctantly, and pulled on her jacket before shoving everything else back in her locker, slamming the door before it could all fall out again. Then, she wrapped the scarf around her neck, and pulled the gloves on.

Seto just stood and watched. She was so… beautiful.

"Oh, I almost forgot." He said, snapping out of his stupor. "Here. Mokuba sent me a card to give you, 'on pain of death'." He smirked. "Apparently there's a present inside…" He handed over an envelope. "Uh-oh. Here comes the friendship freak." He commented, as Téa emerged through the door. Clouds were gathering now, and she to was wrapped up warm. "I'd better go."

"Fine." Azreal said, but she reached up and touched his face.

Seto raised an eyebrow. "She's close enough to see."

"In all honesty? I'm beyond caring." Azreal replied, kissing him quickly.

Oh, how much he wanted to just stay there with her and blow the consequences. But they kept it short, and simple.

"I'll see you later." He left just as Téa arrived, carefully ignoring what she'd just seen.

"Did Kaiba get you these?" She said, admiring the scarf and gloves.

"Yup!" Anna replied, suddenly feeling very happy indeed.

"And this?" Téa asked, flicking the still unopened card in her hand.

"Oh! No, that's from Mokuba…" Anna replied, opening it- which was difficult with gloved hands.

It was a very ordinary birthday card, but inside…

One look at Anna's face told Téa that she needed to snoop over her shoulder.

It was interesting. _Very _interesting.

"How cute." Téa said, sounding dangerous. "Hmm, who knew Kaiba could get bed head? And look at you two, all curled up together…"

Not only had Mokuba managed to take a picture of them, he'd stuck it in a card.

**Dear Anna**it read.

**Hope you like my 'present'. I think it's very sweet…! XD Maybe you can put it in a photo frame later? Well, happy birthday, anyway!**

**_Mokuba_**

Anna continued to choke. Téa took advantage of her friend's weakness to snatch the card out of her hands.

"I think we should show this to the others…!" Téa said gleefully. "and whoever else we meet on the way!"

"No! Téa! You can't!" Anna protested, trying to snatch it back.

"Payback, for PE!"

"Since when have you been into revenge!" Anna demanded. "C'mon, Téa, give it here!"  
"But it's so cute!" Téa's eyes glittered dangerously. "I think they would love it! Joey, especially."

"No! He would get _totally _the wrong idea! You can't!"

Téa laughed, skipping down the hallway. "Just try and stop me!"

Anna tried. And, naturally, managed it just before they reached the doors. Giggling, the two girls went out to join their friends.

"I wouldn't have, by the way." Téa said as they went out into the cold winds.

"I know."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

G&T class.

Feeling apprehensive as to what, exactly, Ryou was up to, Anna entered the room and-

And nothing happened.

Nothing continued to happen for the first half of the lesson, as she sat and listened to the band rehearse. They were playing Otherworld at the moment, trying to get the hang of it. After all, they only had a few weeks left.

Then, as the song ended, they approached her. All of them, and her siblings.

"I told you you'd get your present in G&T." Ryou reminded her mildly.

"Why do I suddenly not want to know what it is…?" Anna remarked.

"Oh, don't worry!" Greg dismissed. "We just got you this between us…"

He pushed a small rectangular box towards her.

"What is it?" Anna asked, poking it suspiciously. It was hard.

"Open it and find out." Craig grunted.

She did. It was a metal case, and inside…

It was a harmonica. A beautiful, metal, harmonica.

"We thought since you were so awful at the guitar- no offence-" Ryou grinned. "We'd get you something easier to play."

They all smirked. The smirks were wiped off their faces as she put it to her lips and played out a cool little riff.

"No way did you just make that up…" Matt grunted. "You actually know how to play that thing!"

"Maybe, maybe not…" Azreal said, mysteriously. She turned it over, spinning it round, admiring it from every angle. And, as the light caught the surface, she saw that four characters were engraved slightly into the surface.

"It's engraved?" She asked, trying to read it.

"Oh, yes." Ryou blinked. "We're not sure _why_, exactly, but all the ones were in the shop were. No plain ones at all. So we had to get that one."

"'Never Surrender'_…_?" Azreal read, slowly. "Nice."

"Well, it's your birthday." Greg said. "Wanna come play with us?"

"Uh, sure." Azreal nodded.

"Just this once, mind." Craig winked.

"Fine." Azreal said, picking up the harmonica.

Time to show these guys just what she could do with it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When Seto rang the bell that night, his hopes were dashed when Doug opened the door.

"Good evening." He said. Seto returned the greeting, whishing Azreal would get down here.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Doug asked roughly. "Who took Anna to the hospital, waited till she came back out, looked after her…"

"Well…" Seto said, uncertain of how to reply.

"And, as I understand it…" Doug continued, eyeing Seto up and down. "You have two, or more, occasions when she has been asleep on your sofa and you haven't ever… taken advantage."

Seto gagged. "What! I wouldn't… I mean… I…" He was still chocking, and felt himself going very red. Doug started to laugh as Seto continued to splutter. Azreal appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Seto!" She grinned. "I thought I heard your embarrassed stammering!" She took the steps two at a time, pulled on her jacket, gloves and scarf, said goodbye to her dad, and a second later, to Seto's relief, they were out the door.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Tell me…!"

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Tell me!"

"No! Honestly, you're as bad as Mokuba…"

"Only because you won't tell me where we're going…" Azreal sulked.

"You'll see." Seto half smiled. "We're almost there."

As if his words summoned the place towards them, they _were _there. Seto pulled the car to a halt, driving himself for once. He nodded at her, and, slowly, they climbed out of the car.

They were near the ocean, for Azreal could hear the sea lapping against the shore. The clouds had been rolling in all day, and although there was no starlight, she could see perfectly well. They were on top of a small hill, or cliff, and they were looking down on the Night Market.

From way up here, the noise was just the slightest snatches of whispers on the breeze, and all the stalls and winding walkways merged seamlessly into one. It was like someone had woven all the different coloured lights together, into a single mass.

Azreal stared at the beauty of it. "City of blinding lights…." She muttered.

"What?" Seto asked. And she stared to sing softly.

"You know. By U2…" He didn't, so, softly, she began. "The more you see, the less you know, the less you find out as you grow. I knew much more then, then I do now…" She smiled as she sung, leaning into him. He didn't pull away. "Neon hearts come alive, City lit by Fireflies, they're advertising in the skies for people like us… And I'll miss you when you're not around… I'm getting ready to leave the ground… Oh, you look so beautiful tonight, in the City of Blinding Lights…I'm not singing the entire song." She laughed. She noticed Seto looking at her.

"What?" She asked, moving closer to him. Hey, she was cold.

"Nothing." Seto replied. "I've just never heard you singing before."

"I like to save people the pain." Azreal said, half-laughing.

"It's not painful. You have a perfectly pleasant voice."

"You're lying, but thanks." Now she really did hug him. And they stood, so close she could feel his breath on the top of her head, so close he could feel her breathing, and they stood like that until there was no time anymore, even as it passed.

"You know…" Seto said, quietly, reluctantly. "As much as I'd love to just stand here all night, I did bring you here to show you something. And you're not going to see anything if you're facing me."

She let go of him. Slowly. And turned to face down towards the Night Market.

"What?" She asked, smiling.

"It should start in a second. Just wait."

A moment later, something _did _start, as a firework shot up from the market, exploding against the cloudy backdrop. And even as the clouds began to clear and reveal the stars beneath, they didn't get any less impressive.

"Fireworks…" Azreal whispered. "Why are they letting off fireworks?"

"I believe the fifth of November is Guy Fawkes night." Seto said.

"Guy Fawkes being…?"

"I have _no _idea." Seto admitted.

"Well, I bet that whoever he was, he was a really happy guy." Azreal smiled, taking his hand. "Because I sure am right now…"

"Me to."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Meanwhile, not as high, but watching the fireworks all the same, Yugi, Ryou, and all the rest were wandering around the market even as they craned their necks upwards. At this precise moment, they were buying candy floss.

"So, what's the deal, Ryou?" Joey asked. "This 'Guy Fawkes Night'?"

"Well, it's something celebrated in Britain. Perhaps one of the stall owners is British. You know… Bonfire Night? Fireworks Night?"

"Yes," Yugi said, after a mouthful of the sticky substance had dissolved in his mouth."But _what _does it celebrate."

"Death of a traitor." Ryou replied easily, as they continued to walk along.

"Seems a strange thing to celebrate." Téa said. "What's the deal?"

"He tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament." Ryou informed them. "See, he was had a different religion to the King and was therefore persecuted."

"What? Was he like a Pagan or something, and they were Christians?"

"Nope. One was Catholic, the other Protestant." Ryou continued. "It seems dumb now, but back then… Anyway, he put gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament, and planned to blow it up on the 5th November. Got caught, naturally." He pointed upwards as the bangs and crashes continued overhead. "That's what the fireworks symbolise. The gunpowder."

"Then what about the bonfire?" Téa asked. "What does that symbolise?"

Ryou gave a slightly devilish grin. "Why do you think there's a dummy- a _guy_- burning on the fire, Téa?"

"Urrgh!"

"Don't worry." Ryou said. "He wasn't alive."

"Oh." Téa relaxed a little, but Ryou wasn't done.

"No, he had already been hung, drawn, and quartered." Ryou continued cheerily. "Oh! And he had his head displayed on a spike!"

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Téa moaned.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto and Azreal wandered almost straight through the market, although they went slowly, they stopped only once.

"Wait here." Seto instructed, disappearing into the crowd. And as Azreal waited, wondering where he was going, she didn't realise she had been spotted.

"Hey!" Tristan said, pointing to where the girl stood. "It's Azreal! What's she doing here? I thought she was going to the cinema with her family…"

"Maybe she came here after." Yugi suggested, "Come on! Let's go say 'Hi!'"

They began to move towards her, but, before they got close, Kaiba appeared, holding something. He gave it to her, and, laughing, she took his hand and they were quickly swallowed by the crowd.

"Should we follow them…?" Tristan wondered. The idea was quickly shot down.

"I just can't believe she'd rather be with _him _then us…" Joey kept saying in frustration.

"Come on." Ryou said. "Let's go see the Bonfire."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They had been wandering around slowly, drinking in the sights and sounds, when, suddenly, Seto stopped.

"Wait here." He told her, disappearing without further explanation.

Azreal waited, looking up at the sky. The clouds really were beginning to clear now, and she could see the first of the stars slipping through it's net. So beautiful- not just the stars, but the clouds and the stalls and… everything. Right then, everything was beautiful.

Someone placed a hand on her elbow, but she wasn't surprised. It could only be one person. "That was quick."

"I got you something." Seto said, shoving the bag towards her. She opened it, and inside…

A fluorescent pink _Hello Kitty _watch.

"What was it?" Seto asked, pretending to think. "'Now you'll be able to make time for me'?"

Laughing, Azreal put it on. "Now we match." She smiled, taking his hand. And, once again, they disappeared into the bustle of this festival mood.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They ended up out on the pier, just as they had that first night she returned to Earth. Whether by accident or not, their feet had carried them here. Silently, as though communicating with something other then words, they moved as one, and sat down at the end of the pier, just as they had done some months ago.

After the last of the fire works banged and shimmed and fizzled themselves out, the crowd began to disperse. Most plunged back into the Night Market again, but Azreal and Seto did not, instead walking silently down the dark track, between the warehouses, and down to the river front.

And, just had they had all the months ago, they sat down on the edge of the wharf, feet just above the water, and watched. In the day time, the water was not all that pretty, rather sludge. But at night, you couldn't see anything except the slight curves of light as the water moved. There was not much moonlight but the water seemed to glimmer and shine, as though it held something secret beneath it's waves.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?" Azreal asked eventually, smiling at the memory.

"Of course." Seto nodded. "We sat and looked out, just like this."

"Yes." Azreal sighed, unconsciously leaning on him. His arm was warm as he just as unconsciously wrapped it around her. "And then you told me that you had made a decision."

"And you asked what it was." Seto added, playing along.

"And you said that you were glad I had come back, and that you knew where we stood. Or rather," She amended. "That you knew where you _wanted _to stand."

"You asked what it was…"

"Yes…" Azreal smirked slightly, knowing he was waiting for the good part. She deliberately slowed down. "And… then…"

"Shut up so I can kiss you." Seto grumbled. He did.

It was strange, Azreal thought, that she spent so much time thinking that Seto had such beautiful eyes, but when she was close enough to get a really good look, she had her eyes closed. And then she was too busy feeling to think any more.

Seto's thoughts never stopped. Ever. He was always thinking about what he had to do, or planning things out, or theorising… his brain just never stopped. That was, of course, until he had kissed her. Then he was too busy feeling. It was like his brain disconnected lest it melted down.

The tips of her hair were tickling his fingers. It seemed so odd that he could still feel that on top of everything else. He could feel his pulse rocketing, heart threatening to burst out of his chest. Or was it hers? They were so close, he couldn't tell where she began and he ended; not until she pulled away some time later, resting her head on his shoulder instead.

"And then we kissed?" Seto asked, hazarding a guess at the end of her sentence.

"I was going to say something more dramatic…" Azreal replied, thoughtfully. "You know, 'And the Earth moved, rocketing into the sky till we stood among the stars', that kind of thing." She smiled. "But yours worked to."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

There were several exits from the market to the wharf, and Yugi and the others took one several metres up from where Anna and Kaiba were. They began to walk down, just in time to see the couple get closer and closer and…

"We are out of here. Now." Téa said, and they didn't need telling twice. "We are _not _going to stand here and _watch_!"

"You got that right!" Joey agreed. "Still… who else _really _wants to go over there and embarrass them…?"

"NO!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Anna stood up, so Seto did to.

"What's wrong?" He asked, as she looked up and down the walkway.

"No, nothing…" She shook her head. "I just thought I heard something…" She went to turn around, somehow missed her footing, and ended falling off the end of the pier.

She surfaced before Seto could react. The tide was on it's way out, and so the water was only waist depth. She spluttered, soaked, and began to wade back towards shore, the pier too high to climb onto.

"Don't say a word…" She called to Seto, as he began to head down onto the beach to meet her.

"I was only going to say-"

"No!"

"That that-"

"Seto…"

"Didn't happen last time." Seto completed, grinning. Azreal laughed, squeezing her hair out. Seto looked at her soaked attire.

"I think that would be a cue to call it a night." He said.

"Yeah…" Azreal agreed, but neither moved as they stood and watched the ocean recede.

"Happy birthday, Azreal."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: There. Hopefully, worth the wait. I haven't named the band yet, you may have noticed. I have a few ideas, but if you have a better one, feel free to send them my way! You may get an imaginary prize!Anyways, here's the lyrics to 'City of Blinding Lights', by, I repeat, U2. This song is on their album, 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'.

_The more you see the less you know  
The less you find out as you grow  
I knew much more then then I do now _

Neon hearts come alive,  
The city lit by fireflies  
They're advertising in the skies  
And people like us

And I miss you when you're not around  
I'm getting ready to leave the ground

Oh you look so beautiful tonight...

Don't think before you laugh  
Look ugly in a photograph  
Flash bulbs, purple irises the camera can't see  
a href"http/  
I've seen you walk unafraid  
I've seen you in the clothes you've made  
Can you see the beauty inside of me?  
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?

And I miss you when you're not around  
I'm getting ready to leave the ground

Oh you look so beautiful tonight...tonight  
In the city of blinding lights

Time...time...time...won't leave me as I am  
But time won't take the boy out of this man  
Oh you look so beautiful tonight  
Oh you look so beautiful tonight  
Oh you look so beautiful tonight

Now, join me next time! It's the Christmas show, but how will Ryou cope with the nerves, especially when something unexpected happens! And it's Christmas Eve at Azreal's- it's a recipe for disaster… What a weird experince that'll be. Writing a Christmas fic in the Summer Holidays...


	15. Mistletoe on a Stick!

A/N: Wheee, got another one, another HUGE one, done. Hooray! Pigs have flown, cause I didn't think this would be done for today! Now, enjoy everyone!

Review Responses: 

**Dragonlady222: **Heh. We couldn't have a day where EVERYTHING goes to plan, could we? And it's nice to see you feel so indignant on Az's behalf... Don't worry, she's on it... Heh.

**Willowwind: **Poor random people... Ahem! I updated! Now you can stop! Or... _(Joins in poking random people) _And I love the word 'Kawe'! It made me happy 'cause my fic made you invent a word. And I may have to steal it.

Well, it seemed like you guys (All two of you) really liked the last chapter! Well, so did I. It's my favorite so far, although, I quite like the ending (Read about 17-18 pages down and you'll see) of this one...

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah. Song lyrics, to all the songs used in the show, apart from my own crummy ones, at the bottom.

And now, we address the question: Why shouldn't eleven year olds read newspapers? The start of this chapter happens almost directly after the end of the last, btw.

Thirteen: Mistletoe-on-a-Stick!

_November_

Mokuba was still up when Seto returned home. But, just before he went to bed, he had some more advice for Seto.

"You know…" He said. "I read in the paper this morning that girls really like it if you phone them up a few hours after you go out to tell them you had a good time…"

Yes, an eleven year old reading the papers. In my defence, he _is _Seto's brother. And now, to stop breaking the fourth wall.

"Mokuba." Seto replied, exasperated. "Have you been reading _The Star _again…?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"No buts!" Seto told him, sternly.

"It's free- they drop it through the door! And-"

"No buts!" Seto repeated. "How many times do I have to tell you? We are a _Times _household!"

"I know…" Mokuba replied, rolling his eyes. "Still, it had some pretty good points. It was a list, see, and-"

"_Goodnight, _Mokuba." Seto said wearily, ending the age old argument.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was warm again, though still not entirely dry, as she came out of the shower. A moment later, she was in her pyjamas and ready to crash.

She was feeling suddenly feeling very sleepy. It was a warm, fuzzy, safe feeling, very similar to the one she'd had when she and Seto had-

She leapt onto her bed, sprawling headlong, burying her face in her pillow. If she started mentally reliving _that_, she'd never get any sleep. Yawning, she tried to roll over with as little movement as possible, so she wouldn't fall asleep on her face and end up eating her pillow. She should really get up and turn the light off, but she didn't want to move.

_What a day… _She sighed happily, metamorphosing into a yawn half way through. _What a wonderful…lovely… beautiful…_

Her thoughts were cut off abruptly by her phone, set on silent, but still managing to vibrate noisily on the shelf above her bed. Groaning, she reached up and found it.

"Hello?" She asked, keeping her voice low as she flopped back down, stifling a yawn.

"Hi." Seto's voice came. She was instantly alert.

"Seto? What's wrong? We only just said goodbye…"

"No, nothing." Seto replied hurriedly. "I hope I didn't wake you up…"

"No, I was just about to turn in." Azreal replied. "What's up?"

"I…uh…just wanted to… say that I had a really good time tonight." Seto said, awkwardly.

"So did I." Azreal replied, smiling. "But since when have you read _The Star_?"

Seto began muttering. She couldn't make much out, but it seemed to be directed at Mokuba.

"Seto." She interrupted. "Seto! Thanks."

"Thanks?" She could almost hear him blinking. "What for? You know I- or rather Mokuba- got it out of the paper."

"Seto," She said, gently. "If you're so anxious to make me happy that you take relationship advice from a free paper and your eleven year old brother, then there's nothing to worry about. In fact, I think it's rather sweet."

"Oh…" Seto was still embarrassed. "Ah. Good."

She laughed. "You are so good, Seto. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."  
She put the phone down, but stared at it for a moment, before putting it back on the shelf. Then she sighed happily, sunk into her bed, and slept.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_December_

The entire school was in a rather festive mood. After all, it _was _the last day before the Christmas holidays. Fun and frolics for all. Today was the concert. First and Second periods were dedicated to the stand-alone acts. Periods three and four was dedicated to the Battle of the Bands segment, and there was no fifth at all. But no-one out in the playground was nervous or worried. Everyone who was performing would be in one of the schools empty classrooms backstage, rehearsing till they were on, or watching the other acts from the wings. So no-one outside was worried.

Except Téa.

"I just don't get it…" She almost wailed. "Where are they?"

Ryou and Azreal still hadn't turned up, and she was almost having a heart attack.

"Well, Anna's always late…" Yugi pointed out. "No logic says she won't be today."

"And Ryou's always ill." Tristan added.

"Nice to know you care." Joey said, rolling his eyes at Tristan's indifferent tone.

"Like you're so loving yourself." He snorted from behind Joey. They all turned on a sixpence and stared.

"What?" He asked, blinking. "Do I have something on my face…?" He wondered, rubbing at it.

"Duke!" Téa yelled. "You're here!"

"You seem surprised."

"Of course she is!" Yugi shouted. "You haven't been in school _all_ _year_!"

Duke shrugged. "I've been in America. I'm back, I'm rich, I was going to stay a little longer… But I had to come back today, didn't I? I have a public to please!"

Joey sighed. "Singing again?"

"As always." Duke responded, nodding. "Later." He swanned off in the general direction of backstage, almost every girl who saw him descending upon him and 'welcoming him back'. He didn't seem to mind, particularly.

"That is so like him…" Téa growled in frustration. The bell for form rang, and they headed in.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Duke was the last one on, near the end of second period. He wasn't a particularly great singer- perhaps he could carry a tune a little better then some- but his main quality was defiantly charisma. It was obvious he was going to win the stand-alones just from the screaming girls in the audience half way through his first, and only, song. And by all the girls from bands and from earlier acts lining the wings, so obsessed that they wanted an autograph. Or an excuse to talk to him.

Finally shaking them off, (Though no paper, book, photo or inanimate object went unsigned, or any girl unsweetened) Duke entered the corridor that was serving as the exit and entrance for the stage, still buoyed up on his assured success. Not looking where he was going, he banged into a girl, hurrying the other way with sheets of paper. Duke began to help her gather them up, so he didn't look at her.

"Oh, sorry!" She said. "You were good, by the way. I could hear part of it back here…"

That voice was worryingly familiar, but he couldn't place it…

"Thanks." He smiled, quickly scribbling his name on the paper and handing it back to her.

"Uh, thanks," She said, bemused. "But I think that you just signed Ryou's guitar tabs."

That voice really was… He looked up, and saw the bespectacled face. He remembered it. He remembered the voice. But who…?

"Azreal!" He yelped, suddenly. "Wha- what are you doing here!"

"Making sure Ryou doesn't pull a Houdini. I could ask you the same thing, but I know you'll just say the USA…"

"No, no, not here as in _here _here! Here as in _Earth _here!"

"Ssh!" Azreal screamed, checking to see no-one was within ear shot. "Keep it down a bit, would ya! Anyways, it's a long story, not very interesting. Have you seen him?"

"Who?" Duke asked.

"Ryou!"

He looked at her blankly. "Ryou?"

"Oh, forget it, I'll find him myself!" She huffed, striding away.

Duke blinked after her. What was _she_ doing _here_?

And worse was yet to come: He hadn't found out she was dating Kaiba yet. He couldn't leave them alone for five minutes…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal eventually found Ryou sitting alone in an empty classroom. Opal was reading a book and waved when her sister came in. Azreal glared at her. Wasn't inspiring Ryou _her _job?

"Ryou!" She said, sitting down on a desk near him. "I've been looking all over for you! Here, you left these in the wings." She passed the tabs to him.

"Thanks." He said. "Um… why does this one have 'Duke' written on it?"

"I think he thought it was an autograph."

"Riiiiiiight."

Silence fell, apart from Ryou aimlessly tuning his guitar. Azreal wasn't even sure if electric guitars _needed _tuning.

Which was probably why she had been so bad at it.

"Nervous?" She asked him.

"Not really…" Ryou answered vaguely. "I'm more worried about when Téa finds out we didn't tell her we were in the band."

"Wait! _We _were in the band!" Azreal asked, surprised.

"I meant I. Sorry." Ryou replied.

"Oh, thank goodness…" Azreal sighed in relief. Ryou laughed that just a little slip in words could cause so much panic.

"So, why are you sitting in here all alone?" Azreal asked. He wasn't all alone, but he didn't know that. Besides, he was lying. He was obviously as nervous as anyone had ever been.

"This is where _I _was meant to meet the others." Ryou sighed. "Only they haven't showed yet…"

"_What!_" Azreal demanded. Ryou shrugged.

"They're not here. I've looked everywhere. Maybe they're just not going to show." He sighed. Azreal shot a look at Opal, who shrugged. She had no more idea then they did.

"Perhaps it'd be for the best, though." Ryou said roughly. "There's a lot of hopes riding out there. When Tom- their first guitarist- was going to leave, they were going to disband. They always said that they had started together and end together. But he told them that they had to win, just once, first. So they got me, and now they're not here. Maybe they know they can't win."

"Don't you ever, _EVER_, say that again!" Azreal yelled, as Opal hastily did… something. Hey, Azreal had never been a model Muse. "They chose you because you're the best, and if they're going to chicken out, it's _not _your fault!"

Ryou blinked, a little taken aback at the anger. "Uh… okay."

"Thankyou." Azreal huffed, sitting back down.

They stayed in that room for the rest of the morning, talking, sitting in silence, practising his songs aimlessly (Though she still hadn't heard him sing) and at one point, just after the stage hand had come to tell them they were on next, Azreal even tried to bring about the festive mood by singing some Christmas Songs.

For some reason, she chose 'A Fairytale of New York.'

"What?" She demanded, as Ryou started laughing.

"Very festive." He chuckled.

"You could help me out here." She pouted. "Come on… I know you know the words, everyone does…Besides, Greg made you learn loads of Christmas songs in case you won…"

"Uh-uh. No way. It's bad enough that I have to-"

"Guys!" Greg yelled, bursting into the room. "Come on! We're on!"

"Where were you!" Azreal demanded, as Ryou stood up, grabbing his guitar.

"Wondering whether to come or not." He smiled. "But never mind! We're on! Let's go and win this!"

"I'll be watching from the wings!" Azreal promised, as they ran towards the stage. "Cut it a bit fine, didn't you?" She hissed at Ruby and Emerald, the first of whom shrugged apologetically.

"Anna! Come on!" Greg hissed. "Too late to Chicken out now!"  
"Huh?" She blinked.

Greg blinked to, then ran a hand through his hair. "Just come on! I'll explain on the way!" He began to pull her along.

"Hey, hey!"

"Ryou! You said you asked her a week ago!"

"Oh." Ryou tapped his chin. "Must have slipped my mind. Sorry."

Greg growled. "Fine. Anna, you've practised with us enough. We want you to play your harmonica for us. The melodies help."

"Well, I-"

"You have it with you?"

"Uh, yeah, but-"

"Great! Thanks!" They had reached the wings now. "Oh, by the way, you're singing _Otherworld _first for us."

"_What!"_

"You did say that the Black Mages' version was sung by a woman. Wait here. I'll introduce you two. New members and all." It was too late for Azreal to argue. He, Craig, and Matt were already taking their places on stage. The amps and drums had been left there, as the hardest to get on stage, but the other instruments the band had to bring on.

"This is revenge for making you sing, isn't it?" Azreal sighed quietly.

"Possibly." Ryou smiled gleefully.

"…But we're back, and with two new members who are hiding back stage… come out here, you two!"

"Point of no return." Azreal muttered.

"Don't be scared."

"Easier said then done."

"Actually, I was talking to myself."

They stepped out. A ripple of surprise went around the audience.

"Guess we found out where those two went…" Yugi muttered. Duke hadn't told them _where _he had seen Azreal. He'd just demanded to know what she was doing back.

"I don't believe it…" Téa muttered. "They didn't even tell us…"

"Yeah, well they don't look too happy about it…" Tristan commented.

"And now," Greg was saying. "We're going to start with a song one or two of you may know; it's called Otherworld. Anna's going to sing it, but she only knew about it a second before we came on stage, so hopefully she hasn't had time to get nervous… So, here goes."

Before she knew what was happening, the opening bars were over, and she didn't have time to think before she was opening her mouth and singing like she never had before.

"Go, now, if you want it! An Otherworld awaits you! Don't you give up on it, you bite the hand that feeds you…"

Seto, who had been paying absolutely no attention all day, suddenly snapped his head up. He had finally got his phone back, but he wasn't working on it. Not that he'd ever admit it, but in actuality, he had been playing _Snake_. Then, he heard that voice, the singing voice that had previously been heard only by him, coming across the hall. Sure enough, Azreal was on stage. Seto's snake crashed into itself one point away from the maximum score.

"All alone, cold fields you wander… Memories of it, cloud your sight. Fills your dreams, disturbs your slumber…" Azreal suddenly became very glad she knew all the words. "Lost your way, a fallen knight…"

Greg and Matt exchanged looks, knowing they'd made the right decision. Anna was not the best singer in the world, and not the best female singer in the school by a long shot. She even _looked _like she'd rather keep her lips firmly clasped around a harmonica. But she wasn't horribly out of tune, and she certainly had the passion. With that and Ryou playing better then ever before, you could feel the crowd getting hyped. Azreal had been right about playing this song first…

"Hold, now, aim is steady, An Otherworld awaits you! One thousand years, you ready? The Otherworld it takes you!"

"Ryou's playing it with his eyes closed." Duke noted in amusement.

"What a show off." Joey half-laughed.

"Actually, Joey…" Yugi whispered. "I think he just doesn't want to see how many people he's playing in front of."

"Oh."

Azreal gladly stepped back to let Greg handle the next bit.

"Go into the sand and the dust and the sky…" He commanded. "Go now, there's no better plan then to do and to die…"

Blinking, Azreal suddenly realised what she was doing. And began to shake like a leaf. She had to get a hold of herself before Greg finished…

"Free me, pray to the fayth in the face of the light, feed me, fill me with sin and get ready to fight… You know you will, you know you will, you know it, you know it, you know it, you know it, that you will! You know it, you know it, you know it, you know it, that you will! Fight, fight, fight…"

Well, there was three of them. There were twelve 'fight's to come before she was on again.

"Fight, fight, fight…"

She was beginning to think it was trying to tell them something…

"Fight, fight, fight…"

She felt sick. She didn't know if she could do this…

Never Surrender.

Fight…

"Fight, fight, fight!"

Azreal took a deep breath, then stepped forward to sing the final two verses.

"Hope dies, and you wander…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The song finished, to Azreal's great relief. And, to her surprise, if the sounds coming from the audience were anything to judge by, it had gone down rather well. Amazing. She could hear a lot of people screaming at Ryou, actually…

She felt someone staring at her, which was odd. There was a lot of people watching, but she was sure… She scanned the hall, and there, near the back, she met Seto's cold eyes.

He smiled, just for a second. But she was sure it had been there... She smiled back as she slunk further back into the shadows.

_Amnesia, _judging by how the cheers undoubtedly reached fever pitch when the instrumentalists began the opening bars, really was a favourite. Greg, in his awesome voice, began to sing the familiar words.

"I see your eyes, I see your face, I hear your words, so full of false regret as you ask me to forget… Forget what you did to me, forget what you said, to believe you were mixed up inside your head, but you ask because you know I will, so weak-willed… when it comes to you, you know I have… Amnesia."

As he paused, waiting for the bridge, Greg shot her look. Right between the bridge and the chorus, that's when he wanted her to come in…

"Who am I? Who are you? I'm beginning to wonder… what we were and what we will become before this Amnesia is done."

_Okay, _Azreal thought to herself. _This is it. This is a song everyone loves, and you're about to come in and practically help remix it… don't screw this up…_

Ryou, who had finally opened his eyes, shot her a look, continuing to play out the bridge a little while she pulled herself together. She gave him, and she, Ryou, Matt, and Craig all launched into the main instrumental until the end of the song.

And if there was anyone who didn't approve of her and Ryou joining yet, they did now.

The cheers, and, again, screams for Ryou, who was going red but somehow managing to keep his playing up, nearly drowned out the chorus.

"Forgive and Forget, Forgive and Forget, Forget and forgive, and forget and forget and forget…" Greg sang in a vain attempt. But it worked, as, suddenly, everyone began to sing along. "Forgive and Forget, Forgive and Forget, Forget and forgive, and forget and forget and forget and forget… Girl, for you, I'd get Amnesia!"

The lyrics were silly, they had no real meaning or significance, but it didn't matter. It was the kind of song that sold itself. Greg smiled. The crowd were really going for it this year, the band were playing better then ever as Matt gave the drums a serious pummelling, Craig kept up a steady beat, faster then ever, Azreal whooped up and down the small instrument, and Ryou navigated his way around the fret board with ease, undoubtedly the star of the show.

Greg was still smiling as he began the second verse. "Your eyes, your face, your words, I'd never let them go despite the lies, I'll forget what you did, forget what you said, I'll believe you were crazy inside your head, I'll be blind, not see a thing, keep hiding in… Amnesia. Who am I? Who are you? I'm beginning to wonder…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

There was no doubt about it. They were a hit.

"We rocked!" Greg yelled, once they were 'back stage' again. "We absolutely rocked them! And we're going to win because, guess what? We rocked!"

"I think he's pleased." Matt laughed.

Ryou and Anna weren't joining in the celebration. In fact, Anna was sprawled on the floor and Ryou was sitting on the desk. Both were shaking. Both looked like they were about to be sick.

"Did we really just do that…?" Azreal asked shakily.

"I think so…" Ryou replied.

There hadn't been enough time within the show to get nervous. So they got nervous now. Suddenly, Greg was among them.

"You two were great to! You rocked!" He screamed happily.

"He's really getting repetitive now…" Craig sighed.

"Who cares?" He laughed. "We've won, we must have! And even if we haven't, which we have, people aren't going to forget that performance! Moshing in _Otherworld_! Singing along to _Amnesia_ and _Paint_! Melting in _She's the One! _And the laughs in _Supreme!" _He finished, looking happy.

"He's right you know." Azreal said to Ryou. "I don't think there was a girl in that audience who didn't think you were singing 'She's the One' for her; and not a guy who didn't secretly think that you were summing up their feelings…You were awesome, all of you!"

Ryou went red and stammered something modest. And then, they had to go back to the stage for judging.

'Judging' was rather a silly word for the actual process. It was more like 'Scream for your favourite'.

And, just as there were no prizes for guessing who would win the stand-alones, there were no prizes for guessing who would win the Battle of the Bands. Even the other bands cheered for them. (A/N: Oh, come on. You all _knew _they were going to win…)

So, only a few minutes after they had got _off _the stage, they had to get back _on_.

Still, at least all they had to do was let Greg make a little speech, play a Christmas song of some sort and bask in the applause.

"I have an announcement to make…" Greg said, a little sadly. Then he told them of their decision to disband, to go out with a blaze of glory.

Of course, that didn't mean that they wouldn't be back, with Tom, in a few years…

"Now, all that remains to be done is play a Christmas song…Now, I _could _just stand here and sing one…" He pretended to think about it. "But, of course, we all know who you really want to hear…" He looked at Anna and Ryou who shook their heads firmly. No way. Uh-uh. They'd done enough singing today.

But you can't argue with popularity. Or strong drummer's arms pushing you from behind.

"Are you sure?" Azreal asked anxiously. "This'll be the last song you guys ever do…"

"Just do it." Greg grinned. _"A Fairytale of New York_.So you can't pretend not to know the words."

They could have argued. They wanted to. Azreal looked at Ryou. Surely he wouldn't…

"It was Christmas eve, babe, in the drunk tank…" She glared at him, surprised. He shrugged, like it had to be done. "An old man said to me, won't see another one…And then he sang a song, the rare old mountain dew, I turned my face away and dreamt about you…"

Azreal just had time to think _Ryou! Greg! I'll kill you both! Well, if Seto doesn't get to Ryou first_…before Ryou had finished the opening and she was on. Rolling her eyes, because she couldn't believe she was doing this, Azreal continued it.

"They've got cars big as bars, they've got rivers of gold, but the wind goes right through you s'no place for the old…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"And the bells were ringing out for Christmas day…"

Just then, as the song finally drew to a close, the bell really _did _ring, and they got out of there to positively thunderous applause.

"Hey, Ryou!" Azreal yelled, as the Brit hurried away. "Where are you going in such a hurry! You'll miss the celebrations!"

"Actually," Ryou confessed "I was hoping to get away before the others got let lose…"

Azreal couldn't help but see the sense in that. Bidding the others goodbye- and a Merry Christmas- she caught up with him and they headed out.

They almost made it.

Almost, but not quite.

They had just reached the gate, other students pouring out of the hall, and then they heard Téa calling them.

"Hey, guys, wait up!" She yelled.

"Should we hide and live to fight another day, or face her now?" Azreal asked. They couldn't pretend not to have heard her, they'd already stopped- a stupid mistake.

"Oh, hide." Ryou decided nervously. "Never do anything till it's too late- that's the British way, my Nan always said…"

"Well, you're on your own, mate." Azreal said, going to revert to her Muse form.

She couldn't.

Her breath caught in her throat. Not already! No way!

But Téa, the others in tow, were already upon them.

"You guys were great!" She yelled happily. "Why didn't you tell us!"

Ryou and Azreal exchanged looks.

"Well, uh, I didn't know till about two seconds before I went on stage…" Azreal tried. Téa nodded and she was therefore off the hook.

Ryou, however…

"Uh… I wanted to surprise you…?" He said, lamely.

"Oh, Téa, leave them alone…" Tristan said tiredly, pushing her out the way. "Well, Ryou mate, I never knew you had it in you."

"Uh…"

Yugi nodded. "Yeah! They say the Dire Straits had the best guitarist in the world, but I bet you could give him a run for his money!"

"No, I…"

"You listen to the Dire Straits?" Azreal asked Yugi in surprise, and he nodded. "Wow! I just love-"

"_Money for Nothing!_" They chorused.

Meanwhile, Joey was still talking to Ryou. "And that song you sung! I bet you could give _Duke _a run for his money to!" He smirked, elbowing the Die master in question.

"Guys! Would you just listen-!"

But they would not. Still, at least they were barraging Azreal now.

Eventually, they managed to get out the gates, and the whole group walked home together for the beginning of the Christmas holidays, talking about plans and hearing Duke's tales.

Not knowing that Seto had been watching the entire time, not wanting to interrupt.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

TO: Merry Christmas!

Alright, Ryou? Ollie finally let me on the computer, it's a miracle. Only one thing to report- your presents arrived today. We haven't opened them, although it was hard work stopping her. I had to hide them. Won't say where, she's bound to read this, but that's neither here nor there. Your present should be arriving in a few more days, we hope. I don't think you'll ever guess what it is.

Well, I'll E-mail you again before the 'big day', but Merry Christmas anyway.

Hmmph. Ollie is telling me that I need to write more. Like what, exactly? Just because I fail to see the point in blathering on

Ow. I'm going to send before she gets the keyboard. And _where _did she get the idea to use _Kitchen Implements_, of all things, against me! Whoever it was, I'm going to sue…

- Seb

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto eventually crashed into the house, exhausted. It was late, really late. Combine that with everything _before _he got to work, and you start getting stupidly long, 20 or so hour days, between when he got up and when he went to bed. And the idiots that worked closest to him were starting to _complain_! It wasn't like Seto was enjoying himself either!

He would be glad when the holiday season was over. Kaiba Corp. products were always in demand at this time of year, and couple that with the Christmas Duel Disk give away, and you had one serious workload.

Sighing, he made his way into the kitchen. He needed a coffee. And who cared if the caffeine would keep him awake? It wasn't like he would sleep anyway. He was too stressed.

He was standing next to the fridge, so he decided to go for the milk first. Not to put in his coffee, you understand. He always had that black. No, it was because he hadn't had anything to eat since lunch, and the quickest thing he could think of was cereal.

Cereal and Coffee at two in the morning. Welcome to the life of a billionaire.

As he was taking the milk out, the phone rang loudly, causing him to drop the bottle. He was suddenly glad he'd started having the plastic bottles as opposed to the glass ones. Still, it was an annoyance.

Cursing, Seto went to find the phone. Who would be ringing at this time?

"Yes?" he asked, sharply. Instantly, his ears were assaulted by an angry American voice, speaking English. Evidently he had just found out about Kaiba Corp's sudden generosity. Seto rolled his eyes, and, refusing to speak anything other then Japanese replied. "Check your contract. The disks are mine to do with what I will to January."

"_You lied to me, boy! No one will want them by January!" _

"Then that's your problem. And, I think your soon-to-be fired lawyer will tell you that I did not lie at all."

"_You deceived me! You must think you're so smart-"_

"No. Just smarter then you."

_"Listen to me, boy! This isn't the end of it, you hear! I'll bankrupt you! You'll be pummelled into the dust! I'll do everything in my power to outdo you at anything and then I'll buy you up at rock bottom prices! I'll grind you beneath my boot, right into the dirt w-"_

"Oh, shut up." Seto sighed in frustration, slamming down the phone in extreme annoyance. Then he took it off the hook.

Now he was even more annoyed. And, relatively, he needed that coffee even more.

He opened the cupboard and pulled out the bag of coffee, ready to pour it into the machine. To his surprise, it had a bright yellow Post-it note stamped onto it. And who else would it be from but Az? Seto peeled it off and read.

_Ha, so you are in the coffee after all. I thought you might be, somehow, and that probably means you had a bad day. I missed you at school today, but I figured you'd need me to grab Mokuba anyways. Well, I had to go home, but it's the first night of the holiday, which means pulling an all-nighter and all, so phone me if you want to vent. If not, just cheer up, okay, and I'll speak to you soon! Az_

He wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to speak to her, and she knew it. A moment later, using his mobile due to 'problems' with the landline, he had dialled her number and continued to make his coffee while waiting for her answer. He didn't have wait long.

"Hello?" Her voice came eventually "If you don't know who this is, wrong number."

"Hi." Seto replied.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was stretched out on her bed, reading. Everyone else was in bed, but she was going finish this book before she went to bed or bust.

She was feeling a little happier now. Her Musing powers were weaker then ever, but they were still _there_. It must have been the nerves she'd felt after the show. She had heard of it affecting powers…

Suddenly, her phone began to ring. Being as it was about ten past two in the morning, it was probably Seto. Getting to the end of her page and marking it, Azreal reached up and grabbed it.

"Hello?" She said, smiling. "If you don't know who this is, wrong number."

"Hi." Seto's voice came.

"Hmm, Coffee at 2am." Azreal commented. "It _must _have been a bad day. What, can't you sleep?"

"Actually, I just got in." Seto told her.

"Woah. _Really_ bad day."

"You don't know the half of it." He sighed. "Besides having to double our production for the holidays, it's this give-away. Everyone's having to put in extra hours, which is costing me a ton in overtime pay and I've got the Worker's Union on my back because it's beginning to look like they might have to work over Christmas. They're supposed to get a week off, and if they don't I could be seeing strike action, and if they don't at least get the three days off, it'll be illegal. Of course, it means that I'll have to do a lot of leg work myself and _I _won't get any time off at all either…" He paused. "And, oh yes, I just got a phone call off that American. Apparently he's going to bankrupt me."

"I guess I won't be seeing much of you this holiday then." Azreal said, slightly disappointedly.

"No." Seto agreed. "Unfortunately not. I thought you were really something today. Or yesterday, I suppose."

The abrupt change of subject surprised Azreal and it took a second for her to click that he meant the show earlier. "Thanks. But Ryou was the real star."

Seto laughed. "Yes, he was certainly popular with the girls. And I don't think that song helped him much…"

"No, I guess not." Azreal laughed in agreement.

"You were good together." He said suddenly. "Doing that duet. You suited."

Azreal giggled nervously. "I really, _really _hope you're just speaking musically."

"I just can't help but think… all of these people, not just him… That they're all nicer then me. And none of them have to work. That you'd better off with them."

"Seto? Are you feeling inadequate?" Azreal asked, in mock surprise. "Because you shouldn't be. I knew what I was getting into when I kissed you on your doorstep. And I still know, and it's wonderful…" She considered how to put it. "You're like Christmas. I don't see you all that often, but it makes it all the better when I do."

Seto laughed. "You have a truly bizarre way of explaining things."

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Azreal pouted. "Say, hasn't that coffee of yours boiled dry yet?"

Seto cursed at the other end of the line.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Christmas Eve_

"Seto…?" Mokuba called tentatively. "I finished the tree… but you have to come and put the Angel on the top, okay?"

"Okay. I'll come in a minute." Seto replied, hating himself. Like he hadn't been saying that for days. But his prediction had come true. He _had _had to finish the work himself. The give-away may have been well under way by now, but there was still the aftermath to deal with. Namely, accounts. Now, his company, even minus expenses, would not be in the red, but they had lost some money, perhaps three or four percent less then normal. He had expected to be able to get that back over the next few years after the boom in popularity that was bound to follow, but with inflation as it was, everything getting more expensive, he'd have increase prices or let some workers go, and then the others would have to work longer hours…

Oh, screw it. His weekly income was measured in Oku. If needs be, he could pay for any losses himself and not notice.

Now, why shouldn't he have a Christmas? And Mokuba, to. He'd go and admire the tree that his brother would undoubtedly be overly proud of, and he'd help him put the fairy or whatever on the top, and he'd- can we have a shocked gasp please- relax and enjoy himself. It was only once a year, for heaven's sake, and he wasn't a _complete _Scrooge!

Azreal had told him that James, Doug and Ruby were all at Ruby's mother's for Christmas eve. The grandparent that didn't like Azreal, so she stayed at home. Doug's parents, who found Azreal to be perfectly pleasant and rather liked her, would be coming over for Christmas day.

Which meant she'd be all alone today.

Hmm… Perhaps Mokuba would like to go visiting later on…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was surprised to open her door to find not one, but both, of the Kaiba brothers on the doorstep.

"Seto!" She yelped. "Mokuba! Uh, Hi!"

"Hi!" Mokuba replied happily.

"Hey…I thought you hated coming here?" She said to Seto.

"I do." He half-laughed. "When your dad is around to commend me for not taking advantage of you."

"_Excuse _me!"

"Never mind." Seto smirked. "Anyway, we figured we'd come to you for once."

"Oh, ah, right…" Azreal said, casting a worried glance back towards the living room.

"Is this a bad time?" Seto asked suspiciously.

"Oh, no! Course not! You know you're welcome anytime, Eheheh…"

"And yet," Seto raised an eyebrow. "You are still deliberately blocking the doorway whilst trying to look like you aren't."

"I suspect she's trying to avoid an argument…" Yugi said, tentatively, sticking his head around the living room door. "Uh… hi?"

Oh, great.

"Let's work on the assumption that the others are hiding around here somewhere." Seto said, wryly as Mokuba greeted Yugi enthusiastically.

"I am." Téa said, coming out of the living room to.

Oh, hooray.

"As am I."

"And me."

"Me to."

"And I just kinda gate crashed."

They were joined by Ryou, Duke, Tristan and Mai.

Wow, awesome.

"Wait…" Seto's eyes narrowed as he counted them mentally. "Okay, where's the other one?"

Joey promptly fell out of the cupboard under the stairs.

"Oof." He declared.

Oh, it just got better and better.

"…I'm not even going to ask." Seto decided. "Sorry, Az. We didn't realise you had company." He turned and began to walk away.

"Wait." She said softly, catching his arm. "There's room for two more, you know."

Seto looked at her. Did she really think that there would be no trouble if he and Mokuba- okay, _he _was let in? Especially with Wheeler sniffing around?

Suddenly, someone started to giggle.

"What?" Azreal asked, as Yugi suppressed a snort. Suddenly, the others were giggling to, at what, they still did not know. "Seriously, what!"

Seto wasn't sure either at first. Then his awesome Big-Brother-Senses or whatever distinctly picked out Mokuba's giggle within the others. He turned quickly, to see his brother laughing and holding a stick upright like a fishing rod. Dreading what he was going to see, Seto followed the stick up, and up, to a piece of fishing wire…

Oh, dear.

Azreal followed his gaze upwards, and had to see the funny side of it.

"MISTLETOE-ON-A-STICK!" Mokuba declared loudly, laughing. At the end of the piece of fishing wire, the Mistletoe bucked and swayed as he moved, but never from over their heads.

"How did you manage to hide _that_!" Seto demanded.

"That's not important!" Téa declared. "You two _have _to kiss now!" She laughed.

"It's tradition!" Mai nodded solemnly.

"It's bad luck not to." Joey cried, still laughing.

Well, he'd changed his tune.

Seto went red. Azreal was cracking up.

"Out here in the street?" She asked, giggling "Can't we at least come inside first?"

"Nope!" Mokuba said cheerily. "You have to do it where you were caught! That's the rules of Mistletoe-on-a-stick!"

"There are no rules!" Seto protested. "You just made it up!"

"Therefore, I make up the rules!" Mokuba declared gleefully.

"I am not kissing out in the street for the entertainment of you perverted freaks." Seto said flatly, making them all laugh harder.

"Why?" Joey asked. "It's not like we haven't already se-" Téa stamped on his foot. "Seen people kissing on TV." Joey amended quickly.

"For pity's sake, Seto, it's just mistletoe." Azreal said, rolling her eyes. "Grow up! You're so immature sometimes…"

"Why? Because I don't want to cheapen our relationship?" Seto smirked.

"Awww…" Téa and Mai chorused. Seto glared at them.

And whilst he was looking the other way, Azreal reached up and got him on the cheek.

"That's cheating." Seto glowered down at her. "You surprised m-ummph!"

Azreal pulled away from his lips, giggling. "Looks like I just did again."

"Hmmph." Seto tried to keep a straight face. "I'll get you lat-mmumph!"

"Like now?" Azreal asked, also fighting serious giggles as those behind her were practically hysterical.

"Okay, seriously." Seto said in mock sternness, backing away. "Stop that."

"Guess now we know how to shut him up." Joey smirked.

"Well, if you _want _to kiss Kaiba, Joey…" Yugi said, perfectly seriously. "Of course, I think you'd have to talk to Azreal first…"

"Oh, I don't mind." Azreal shrugged. "Joey can't help it."

"I _am_ irresistible." Seto said, good naturedly, but unable to suppress an eye-roll.

Joey chocked, going very red, and, at last, they all trooped back inside.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Although no-one could quite fathom out _how _Mokuba had managed to hide the Mistletoe-on-a-stick, it made several appearances that night, sneaking up on unwary sets of people talking or eating or playing various board and card games, Christmas music in the background; and catching them in it's trap, coming each time with a cry of 'Mistletoe-on-a-stick!' from whomsoever happened to be wielding it at the time.

The first to be caught in the trap, after Seto and Azreal, was Yugi and Téa. Reddening, she had pecked the positively crimson Yugi on the cheek. If possible, he went ever redder.

Next up, Joey and Mai. This one was interesting. They leant in, with trepidation at first, but then they kissed, and, as everyone turned away, they showed no signs of letting up until Yugi, who had been in possession of the stick at the time 'accidentally' dropped it on their heads.

When Mokuba reclaimed the stick, you knew it was trouble. He waited, biding his time, then 'Swoosh!' Azreal found herself underneath the mistletoe again with, of all people, Joey.

"Eh, I'm not sure if I'm more scared of the bad luck or your boyfriend…" Joey laughed.

"I suggest you choose wisely, Wheeler." Seto commented, watching the proceedings carefully.

"Ah." Azreal laughed. "I'll just give you a hug instead." She did, then turned to apprehend their attacker. "As for you… I believe you're under here to, are you not?"

Uh-oh… Mokuba began to giggle, backing away. "That's against the rules…"

"Oh, I'm not going to kiss you. Eww. No offence, but you're a little young. HOWEVER," She continued, raising a hand slightly. She was a hand-talker. Big deal. "I _am _going to tickle you till you beg for mercy."

"Uh… I'm not ticklish?" Mokuba lied. Azreal continued to back him into a corner.

"Really?" She asked. "Shall we put that to the test?"

As she grabbed him and began to tickle him mercilessly, the others excluding Seto laughing and coming to wreak their revenge as Mokuba called out breathlessly to his older brother to help, and the older brother in question stood by and watched.

And then, the doorbell rang, and they all froze.

"I wonder who that is…?" Azreal frowned. "Hold that thought." She instructed, as the others straightened up slowly and Mokuba took the opportunity to get as far away as possible.

_Looks like Carol singers… _She thought, seeing the two hazy figures through the glass. _Or tax collectors. Well, I don't have anything to give carol singers. Tax collectors can have a punch in the face…_

As it turned out, it wasn't tax collectors, _or _carol singers.

It was, in actuality, a girl and a boy, asking for directions.

"I'll help if I can." Azreal shrugged. "Where are you looking for?"

"Oh!" The girl said, "I have it written down here…" She dug in her pockets. "Somewhere…"

The guy sighed. "Don't worry. I have a spare. I knew you'd lose it…" He handed Azreal a slip of paper. She looked at it, eyes narrowing. She recognised this address immediately…

She looked up at the people again, and recognised them from the picture she'd been shown. It _was _them, she was sure of it. It had to be.

Now, there was a turn up for the books.

"Uh, Ryou?" She called uncertainly. "It's for you! I think…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou ambled out into the hall, his eyes widening in recognition. "Ollie? Seb? Oh, my life… What are you doing here?"

"Don't call me Ollie." She responded.

"We figured no-one should have to spend Christmas alone. Not you, and not us." He replied.

"Mom's away working again." Olivia explained.

"However," Seb said, raising his eyebrows as Téa, Yugi, Mai, Duke, and Tristan appeared, coming to investigate. "You don't appear to be having that problem."

"Well, uh…" Azreal said, not entirely sure of what was going on. "You'd better come in…."

"_Mistletoe-on-a-stick_!" Mokuba bellowed in the living room.

"Come in faster!" Azreal yelped, hurrying into the front room to find out what was going on, and couldn't help but laugh. It seemed Mokuba had finally succeeded in his ultimate goal-

Now Joey and Seto were under the Mistletoe.

Oh, dear. Surely, all hell was about to break lose…

Seto calmly reached up and pulled on the offending plant till the wire holding it snapped. Then he equally calmly wrenched the stick out of his younger brother's hands, broke it in two, and handed it back.

"Problem solved." He said.

"Ah, Seto, you broke it…" Mokuba pouted.

"Yes, a necessary sacrifice, but it will be greatly mourned." Seto replied evenly. Then he noticed the crowd in the doorway.

"Oh, Seto, Joey, Mokuba…" Azreal said, gesturing at the respective people. "Meet…" She waved vaguely at the two new comers. "Actually, I don't know _who _they are. Who are you?" She demanded, turning round.

"Friends of mine…" Ryou informed her, still sounding surprised. "Very old friends of mine…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"In short," Sebastian concluded, wrapping his hands round the mug of hot chocolate- Anna's speciality, apparently- "It would seem we owe you a lot."

It had been back in October when Olivia had had the brainwave that they should go and spend Christmas with Ryou, and Seb really hadn't had much of a choice in the matter. Their mom was in the US anyway, and they were almost as rich as Seto, from the sounds of things, so _getting _to Japan was no problem. Finding Ryou's house, however, proved to be much harder. You'd think _numbered _streets would make it easier, but _no_, there seemed to be no logic in the numbers at all…

Anyway, as Azreal's house had been the only one with lights on, they'd decided to rely on the occupier's good heart for directions and, lo and behold, found Ryou here.

Olivia nodded. "Without you guys, we'd never have got back in touch with Ryou, and we wouldn't be here."

Téa nodded. She had listened aptly throughout the tale. A story of friendship prevailing was her kind of story.

Olivia yawned suddenly, and her brother looked ready to join in. A nine hour time jump was not to be sniffed at.

"We'd better go back to mine." Ryou said, standing up. "It's not far to walk, so we needn't bother with a taxi. Come on, Cas." He called to his sleeping dog.

"Oh, wait!" Azreal cried, leaping up. "I have to give you your present first! Wait here!"

Sheep slippers flip-flopping behind her, she ran up the stairs.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She was crouched down, kneeling on the floor, digging through the bin liner, now half falling out of her wardrobe, getting steadily more stressed. In this bag were all her presents, for her friends and family, and it was nigh-impossible to find Ryou's. Like a needle in a haystack. Like a plectrum in a pile of presents, in fact.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, and then resumed her digging.

But, then, lying next to her hand, was…

"Mistletoe?" She wondered aloud, picking it up.

"Rough day?" Seto laughed sympathetically.

"No, no, it's been great." Azreal smiled. "But, I'm telling you, I'll be ready for bed tonight!"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "Ah. And if your dad heard you saying that to a guy standing in your bedroom…"

Azreal laughed. "Oh, no, he trusts you implicitly. I'm sure he thinks the sun shines out of your rear end, sometimes. But won't the others miss you?"

"I'm hoping they'll think I've gone to met sanitary requirements." Seto shrugged. "In the meantime, I came to meet other requirements- namely, getting you back for the Mistletoe incident on the porch."

"Ah." Azreal smirked. "And how are you intending to do that?"

"In a very traditional way…" Seto mirrored his smirk to hers as he sank down to his knees next to her, leaning towards her…

"And how's that?" Azreal teased, so close now she could feel his breath.

"It's very simple." Seto replied quietly. "First I get you close, like this, and then…"

"Then?"

"Then I hit you with the flour I stole from your kitchen." Seto replied easily.

Azreal's eyes widened, but there was no time for further reaction before he tossed some of the hidden flour at her.

"You…" Azreal coughed, resembling nothing more then a snowman. He smirked. "You… Oh, there's not even a word for it!"

Seto laughed. Pity, because he should have been paying attention.

Azreal kept talcum powder in her cupboard.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Hey, Azreal?" Yugi called, climbing the stairs. "You've been a while… Ryou needs to leave… Is there anything wrong?" He stuck his head round the ajar door and found Seto and Azreal, covered in white, as was the carpet and, well, most of the room, littered with an empty flour packet and what looked like a talcum powder bottle, and the two in question pocking each other feebly with their fingers.

They stopped when Yugi came in. They looked at him.

He looked at them.

They looked at him.

Suddenly, Azreal started to giggle. "Sorry, Yugi… Be there in a minute… I'll just bring the whole bag down, and you can all have your gifts…"

"Uh… Okay…" Yugi looked like he couldn't wait to get out of there.

As Azreal and Seto came downstairs, dirty from the epic flour-talcum war, no-one commented. They were probably dying to know what exactly had happened, but declined to comment, politeness preventing them.

Azreal dished out the gifts, feeling a little like Santa, and got several back in return. In fact, it seemed like, as they wouldn't met up tomorrow, everyone was swapping presents.

After that, the guests gradually left, Mokuba, stifling yawns, going with Ryou. Ryou lived close to Azreal, so therefore, close to Seto.

Eventually, only he and Joey remained. Seto because he had to help clean up the mess upstairs, and Joey because…he hadn't left yet.

"Well," He said, heading out into the hall. "Bye, you two. Merry Christmas."  
"See ya, Joey." Azreal replied. "And a Merry Christmas to you to."

"Yeah." Seto added. "Merry Christmas, Mutt."

His tone surprised Azreal. Could it be… not sarcasm, but friendliness?

Joey looked surprised to, but he laughed. "Merry Christmas, money bags." He responded easily, giving one last wave and heading out into the waning snow.

Azreal shut the door behind him, and turned towards Seto.

"You surprised me." She admitted. "You were perfectly civil, tonight, even to Joey."

"You would've chucked me out if I hadn't…" Seto pointed out. "Anyway, it's Christmas. You know, Peace on Earth, Good will to all men… and Beasts."

Azreal laughed, and right now, he really wanted to kiss her, right there in the hall, standing next to the coat rack. But as he leant in, she pressed a hand gently against his mouth, pushing him away.

"Ah, ah, ah…" She warned. "Not until we've cleaned up my room." She said, starting to head up the stairs. She grinned. "Vacuum's under the stairs."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Ah, poor Seto. Ah,the epicflour-talcum war.By the way...Seb and OliviaDO have aback story, but it probably won't be in this.Actually, they were in a Plot Dragon I had a while back for a one shot. Might write it when it really IS Christmas.Heh. Now Lyrics…

_--Otherworld---_

_Go now, if you want it_

_An otherworld awaits you_

_Don't you give up on it_

_You bite the hand that feeds you_

_All alone, cold fields you wander_

_Memories of it, cloud your sight_

_Fills your dreams, disturbs your slumber_

_Lost your way, a fallen knight_

_Hold now, aim is steady_

_A n otherworld awaits you_

_One thousand years, you ready?_

_The otherworld, it takes you_

_Go into the sand, and the dust, and the sky_

_Go now, there's no better plan, than to do or to die_

_Free me, pray to the fayth in the face of the light_

_Feed me, fill me with sin, and get ready to fight_

_You know you will_

_You know you will_

_You know it, you know it, you know it, you know it, that you will_

_You know it, you know it, you know it, you know it, that you will_

_You know you will..._

_Fight, fight, fight_

_Fight, fight, fight_

_Fight, fight, fight_

_Fight, fight, fight!_

_Hope dies, and you wander_

_The otherworld, it makes you_

_Dreams, they rip asunder_

_The otherworld, it hates you_

_Free now, ride up on it_

_Up to the heights, it takes you_

_Go now, if you want it_

_An otherworld awaits you_

_---She's the One---_

_I was her she was me_

_We were one we were free_

_And if there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_We were young we were wrong_

_We were fine all along_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_When you get to where you wanna go_

_And you know the things you wanna know_

_You're smiling_

_When you said what you wanna say_

_And you know the way you wanna play_

_You'll be so high you'll be flying_

_Though the sea will be strong_

_I know we'll carry on_

_Cos if there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_When you get to where you wanna go_

_And you know the things you wanna know_

_You're smiling_

_When you said what you wanna say_

_And you know the way you wanna say it_

_You'll be so high you'll be flying_

_I was her she was me_

_We were one we were free_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_Yeah she's the one_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_She's the one_

_If there's somebody calling me on_

_She's the one_

_---Love Supreme---_

_Oh it seemed forever starts today _

_All the lonely hearts in London_

_Caught a plane and flew away_

_And all the best women are married_

_All the handsome men are gay_

_You feel deprived_

_Yeah are you questioning your size?_

_Is there a tumour in your humour,_

_Are there bags under your eyes?_

_Do you leave dents where you sit,_

_Are you getting on a bit?_

_Will you survive_

_You must survive_

_When there's no love in town_

_This new century keeps bringing you down_

_All the places you have been_

_Trying to find a love supreme_

_A love supreme_

_Oh what are you really looking for?_

_Another partner in your life to_

_abuse and to adore?_

_Is it lovey dovey stuff,_

_Do you need a bit of rough?_

_Get on your knees_

_Yeah turn down the love songs that you hear_

_'Cause you can't avoid the sentiment_

_That echoes in your ear_

_Saying love will stop the pain_

_Saying love will kill the fear_

_Do you believe_

_You must believe_

_When there's no love in town_

_This new century keeps bringing you down_

_All the places you have been_

_Trying to find a love supreme _

_A love supreme_

_I spy with my little eye_

_Something beginning with (ah)_

_Cocked my back up_

_And now she's screaming_

_So I've got to turn the track up_

_Sit back and watch the royalties stack up_

_I know this girl she likes to switch teams_

_And I'm a fiend but I'm living for a love supreme_

_When there's no love in town_

_This new century keeps bringing you down_

_All the places you have been_

_Trying to find a love supreme_

_A love supreme_

_Come and live a love supreme_

_Don't let it get you down_

_Everybody lives for love_

_Repeat..._

_---A Fairytale of New York----_

_It was Christmas eve babe_

_In the drunk tank_

_An old man said to me, won't see another one_

_And then he sang a song_

_The rare old mountain dew_

_I turned my face away_

_And dreamed about you_

_Got on a lucky one_

_Came in eighteen to one_

_I've got a feeling_

_This year's for me and you_

_So happy Christmas_

_I love you baby_

_I can see a better time_

_When all our dreams come true_

_They've got cars big as bars_

_They've got rivers of gold_

_But the wind goes right through you_

_It's no place for the old_

_When you first took my hand_

_On that cold Christmas eve_

_You promised me_

_Broadway was waiting for me_

_You were handsome_

_You were pretty_

_Queen of New York City_

_When the band finished playing_

_They howled out for more_

_Sinatra was swinging,_

_All the drunks they were singing_

_We kissed on a corner_

_Then danced through the night_

_The boys of the NYPD choir_

_Were singing "Galway bay"_

_And the bells were ringing out_

_For Christmas day_

_You're a bum_

_You're a punk_

_You're an old slut on junk_

_Lying there almost dead on a drip in that bed_

_You scumbag, you maggot_

_You cheap lousy faggot_

_Merry Christmas your arse_

_I pray God it's our last_

_The boys of the NYPD choir_

_Were singing "Galway bay"_

_And the bells were ringing out_

_For Christmas day_

_I could have been someone_

_Well so could anyone_

_You took my dreams from me_

_When I first found you_

_I kept them with me babe_

_I put them with my own_

_Can't make it all alone_

_I've built my dreams around you_

_The boys of the NYPD choir_

_Were singing "Galway bay"_

_And the bells were ringing out_

_For Christmas day_

There! Heh. Happy Christmas, everyone! XD


	16. The Common Cold

A/N: Okay, here we go! And it would have been done yesterday, if it wasn't for a bunch of minor annoyances, the biggest of which was Word not only crashing, but deciding to restore, rather then what I had saved five minutes ago, what I'd saved _three hours_ ago. And then, when I sat down to re-write it, someone decided to go and play a Bugle, for no reason, very badly, in the MIDDLE OF THE STREET, for an _ENTIRE HOUR_. I'm telling you, by that point, I was about ready to go out and tell him _exactly _what he could do with his bugle… At any rate, by the time he shut up I was too stressed to do anything else, and the day was nearly over anyway. IT WAS THE PAPERCLIP, I TELL YOU! IT WILL HAVEIT'S REVENGE!

Ahem. Actually, I guess it was kinda a blessing in disguise, because I had been having a lot of trouble with this chapter- so the 3 hours lost hadn't been all that productive anyway- but this is still better then the last attempt. Meh. It's kinda boring, though, I think…

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **Your reviews are getting as long as mine... Oh, alright. Well, I wasn't sure about 'turned on sixpence', because it was either as sixpence or a ninepence. As for 'Happy' vs. 'Merry', we mainly use merryto. If I understand the sentence correctly, you liked the chapter, so I'm glad. Remember when I spent the day with my Grandparents? Yah. Mistletoe-on-a-stick saved my sanity. Annnnd... I can't be bothered. In short, your fic is also funny, sodon't forget it.

**Dragonlady222: **Hey, I meant to ask last time, but I have a memory like a ripped sieve...? How was your holiday? And how were your relatives?They were from Australia, right,against whom we're actually WINNING the cricket? Heh. Not that I'm gloating, or anything... They've beaten us foralmost twenty years... annnd, back on track. Gasp! You're right! Nothing bad happened to Az! And it doesn't this chapter either! What is this fic coming to?My whole perception of reality is being changed! AHHHHHH!

Disclaimer: I own _this (Measures with fingers) _much.

And now, Gasp! It's time for the 500th Strip, but, as always, there's a spanner in the works…

Fourteen: The Common Cold

_Christmas Day_

Mokuba had finally got the PS2. He suspected Anna had probably convinced Seto, but it didn't matter. His older brother rocked, especially when he caved on an issue.

But, speaking of Anna, she had given them both presents to.

Mokuba opened his, a smallish rectangular shape, and was happy to find _Soul Calibre, _one of the most recommended games available.

Seto's was a box shape, so there were no clues to what it was. When the paper fell away, however, he found that, according to the picture on the front, it was a secondary PS2 controller. After all, _Soul Calibre _had a multi-player mode for a reason.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

James had been too impatient, despite his parents and indeed grandparents efforts to make him take it in turns, so they eventually let him dismantle his way through his pile of presents. As with so many kids his age, the boxes and bubble wrap was just as much fun as the toys themselves.

Anna laughed, watching him play. It was fun, just seeing him so excited. She could almost go without herself and still have a fun day-

"It's your go, Anna." Her dad said, handing her a package.

Almost.

Reading the tag on the present, it was from both Seto and Mokuba. She opened it to find a metal tin, about the size and shape of a floppy disk, albeit quite a bit thicker. It had a small clip on the back, designed to slip into a pocket or onto a belt. It was engraved slightly, but not with any instantly recognisable shapes, more swirls and abstract shapes- but as she looked more closely, she saw that it wasn't random after all. There was a fantasy world depicted on the tin, that showed a dragon flying majestically up through some clouds, with creatures swirling up and around and below him, centaurs and unicorns, fairies, Sprites, pixies…

An exact copy of those doors in the Kaiba mansion, in miniature. The doors Azreal had loved, but Seto hated. He must have had this specially made. And it was beautiful…

It opened with a slight 'click' and inside the silver case, in some kind of soft black lining, nestled a stack of cards. Or, more precisely, a deck.

Seto and Mokuba had built it for her. It had been designed to be effective but relatively easy to use. They had even tried to find cards that they felt Azreal would like. _Scapegoat _had been left on the top.

It was about time she learnt how to play, they figured.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Joey was in his room. It was pity he couldn't have spent Christmas with his mom and sister, as usual, but at least he'd had a good time yesterday. And, what do you know? His dad had even been sober enough this year to get him a present.

It was just a shame that 'present' had been a half-drunk bottle of whiskey wrapped in newspaper. Having given his dad his present, the man in question had gone out, leaving Joey in peace, at which point he had tipped the whiskey down the sink. He wasn't exactly a 'good boy', but no way was he going the same way his dad had. Then he had snuck up here, and pulled out the pile of gifts from under his bed, where he'd hidden them. He'd unwrap these, and then Yugi had discreetly told him he was welcome to join him and his grandfather for the rest of the day at the Game Shop.

He smiled. There were presents here from Yugi, Tristan, Téa, Azreal, Serenity, his mom, Ryou, Mai, and even Duke had coughed something up. He picked up Azreal's and was rather surprised when it squeaked at him.

What on Earth…?

He opened it, anticipating. Azreal had a great sense of humour, and funny presents seemed to be her speciality.

Oh.

"So not funny…" He frowned, picking up the squeaky, bone shaped, dog toy.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou's flat only had one guest room, and Olivia had ended up in there. As he emerged, yawning, into the living room, Ryou saw that Seb had succeeded in falling off the sofa in the night, but neither he nor his sister was awake yet. Nor were any of his friends, spread across the city, although Ryou had no way of knowing that. Nine hours was a serious time difference, he knew that first hand.

As she saw him, Cassie stood up out of her basket, and padded softly over to him, nudging his legs. He wondered vaguely as they headed into the kitchen whether it was affection of just that she wanted breakfast. Yawning, Ryou started to put the coffee on. Back in the day, he would have had tea, but it seemed the Japanese were more crazy for it then the British were. There was an _art _to it. 'Chanoyu'- The Tea Ceremony. It had an almost religious reverence about it, and took ten years to learn in it's full extent. Ryou hadn't bothered. It was all herbal teas here anyway. All this caffeine couldn't be good for him, but he really hadn't taken to these herb teas at all, and that seemed to be all you could get. Not a box of… Earl Grey, or something… in sight… He wondered if the twins had brought any with them. It seemed unlikely, but…

Cassie barked indignantly, and Ryou shushed her hastily.

"I'm coming, I'm coming…" He murmured, empting some food into her dish. He tossed a treat in top as an after thought. He had brought her a toy, but she could have that later. He gave her a quick stroke as she went to dig in. "Merry Christmas, girl…"

He took her water bowl, filling it up at the sink before putting it back down next to her. Then he washed his hands off, and put some bread in the toaster. The usual, morning things. Nothing special.

By the time the toast popped up and the coffee was brewed, Cassie was done. She nudged his knees again as he vainly attempted to spread some jam. "Wait a minute." He told her. Normally she would just sit and wait where she stood, but today she did not. Nudge. Nudge. Nudge. Driving Ryou crazy.

He looked around, searching for something to distract her. He could always go and get that toy he'd brought her… Oh, no, it was in the cupboard that Seb was currently sleeping in front of. But wait! Azreal had handed him two parcels. One, she had explained, was for him. The second was for his 'cute dog'. Everything had just been dumped on the counter the night before, including presents off all the others to. Hastily, Ryou began to sort through them.

_Ryou. _Ryou. **Ryou**. R_y_o_u. **Ryou. **_Ryou! _Ryou._ _J_oe_y_.

Joey?

Ah. It would seem that Azreal had somehow managed to give him Joey's present instead of Cassie's. Oh well. He knew Joey was going to the game shop later. He would leave it with Yugi when he took Cassie for her walk. But if Joey's was here…

It probably meant that…

Oh, dear.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Yugi pounded down the stairs, just as he did every morning. But this morning was better then most, because it was Christmas Morning. Fun for all.

As he passed the front door, he noticed a parcel lying there, a small note attached to it. How odd- the postman didn't work today…

He jumped the last few steps and went to pick it up. He recognised Ryou's slightly erratic handwriting instantly.

Yugi! I think Anna gave me Joey's present, instead of Cassie's by accident… Makes you wonder who got hers… Ah well. Could you please give this to him later? Thanks a lot, and Merry Christmas! – Ryou.

Yugi shook his head. Mixing up presents… that was exactly the kind of thing Azreal would do… Oh well. Although, he was right. Yugi laughed as he realised that if Joey got Cassie's toy… Oh dear. He hoped someone had warned Azreal…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Duke had not expected to get presents off his friends, not at such short notice. But even Azreal had got him one, when they didn't even know each other that well. He began to unwrap it, not knowing her reputation as far as presents went.

He found a pair of fluffy pink dice, designed to be stuck in a car window, and couldn't help but laugh.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou's present turned out to be a plectrum. Oh, and a doll.

The doll itself was obviously another hand-made-by-Anna one. The note attached to it read:

R_y_o_u_, _y_o_u br_o_u_ght th_is _o_n y_o_u_r_s_el_f, y_o_u _k_n_o_w! Y_o_u _D_I_D _say _to tr_y s_o_m_eth_i_ng ne_w, s_o _I _d_i_d_! I'm s_orr_y i_t'_s s_o terr_ib_le, _bu_t keep _i_t _f_or no_w, I'_ll _ma_ke _a b_etter one _som_ed_ay, _pro_mis_e_! A_nd _if y_o_u _don_'_t _wa_nt _i_tK_a_r_i_t_a _c_a_n _us_e _i_t _as a v_oodoodoll. _A_z

Ryou laughed, shaking his head as he looked at the doll, an uncanny likeness to himself. It had it's eyes closed and was holding a guitar.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Téa and Mai had both been easy, and they opened their presents to find a perfume set. Combine that with the PS2 controller for Seto, the game for Mokuba, the plectrum for Ryou, the squeaky bone intended for Cassie, The microphone for Joey- he had mentioned that he was getting Flash for Christmas, but it wouldn't be much good without a mike- the fluffy dice for Duke, another set of chocolate cards which had proved popular last time and a variety of amusing motorbike bumper stickers for Tristan; plus the presents for her family, Azreal had brought a serious amount of gifts that year. It was amazing she could afford it.

But, when you thought about it, she still had all her wages from when she had been working- What was a thirteen year old going to do with 9000 credits a year?- which she had had converted to yen before coming down here, and besides that, she had an eye for a bargain.

Perhaps not so amazing after all.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_January_

January is often the worst month of the year. It's still cold and wet, but Christmas is done and over, and there's nothing to do but drudgery. Colds and flues were running amok amongst the students of almost every school. Even Mokuba seemed to have got something. He had been very quiet all the way home, and was shortly discovered to have a fever. He was upstairs now, hopefully sleeping. Not wanting to leave him all alone while he was ill, and deciding that with the surround sound the Playstation that usually occupied her was too noisy, Azreal had taken the liberty of logging onto the internet. Only one of her friends was online, and it just so happened to be Téa.

Juilliard2009: _Oh, poor Mokuba_. _It seems that everyone's getting sick at the moment…_

Wings: **I know what you mean. Speaking of which…**

Wings: **Did Joey look alright to you? **

Juilliard2009: _I know what you mean. He didn't seem himself, did he? Although, he HAS been very stressed out over that comic of his…_

Wings: **Well, it's the 500th Strip. It's important.**

Juilliard2009: _I don't see how it's anymore important then any other one of the 500 he's done…_

Wings: **Are you kidding! People expect something _special _from the 500th strip! If the 500th strip isn't memorable, popularity declines! 500 is what will make or break a comic!**

Juilliard2009: _Okay, chill! I know he's having trouble with ideas, but… Still, do you think that's all it is?_

Wings: **When he's shaking and sweating? No. He's defiantly sick. I'm surprised he doesn't stay off school. But then, I guess that would be admitting defeat and he'd never get the comic done… He's cutting it pretty fine anyway. I mean, he wants to put it up on his birthday, but so far all he's decided is that he wants to reveal who he is. Hey, maybe they'll let him in G&T after!**

Juilliard2009: _I'm worried about this. Surely his readers would understand? I mean, he really is ill, and does it really matter if they have to wait!_

Wings: **It would to Joey. You know how stubborn he is. We'll go visit him on his birthday! Saturday, right? Day after tomorrow?**

Juilliard2009: _That's right. Good idea!_

Wings: **Eww. I have to go… I have a feeling I'm going to have to clean a carpet to…**

Juilliard2009: _Eww… Bye, then._

Wings: **Bye….**

She logged off quickly, and headed to where she had heard the… noises…

Yup. That carpet was _defiantly_ going to need cleaning.

"Sorry…" Mokuba murmured, sounding half asleep.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Joey had not got any better. Actually, he had got worse, until all his friends were worried about him. Even the teachers were beginning to notice that this guy was sick. And the fact of the matter was, he wasn't thinking straight. No way could he make a comic in this condition, and trying was making it worse. So, at about eleven o'clock on his birthday, everyone who could make it arrived outside Joey's home, armed with gifts and well wishes.

When Tristan went up and banged on the door, there was no answer. But it did swing open slightly. A little worriedly, they entered the small hallway.

"Joey…?"

They came into the main room. Joey was lying on the sofa, sleeping fitfully. The fact that his sketch book and a pencil were lying haphazardly among a pile of screwed up papers suggested he had dropped off whilst still drawing. He still hadn't got the comic done.

"Oh, poor Joey…" Téa muttered, so not to wake him. "At least he's finally getting some sleep at last… It seemed like he hadn't slept in weeks…"

They hovered uncertainly.

"We know how important that comic was to him…" Yugi said uncomfortably. "He really wanted to get it done. If we don't wake him up…"

"We can't wake him up!" Téa protested in a hushed voice. "This might be the only way he's going to get over his sickness!"

"He might not see it like that." Ryou pointed out, as mild as ever.

Azreal, meanwhile, was looking through the crumpled up pieces of paper. "It looks like he was planning to make it in Flash… Say, have any of you guys ever used Flash, by any chance…?"

"I have…" Yugi muttered as they stared at her indcredously.

"No." Tristan said flatly. "We can't. He'd kill us."

"Well, it'd be the best of both worlds…" Téa said thoughtfully.

"We need only explain why the _real _thing had been delayed…" Ryou pointed out.

"…Okay." Tristan sighed in resignation. "But we must be crazy. And we'll just have to hope his dad doesn't come home while we're here…"

"Then we'll work fast." Azreal replied determinedly. "We _are _going to do this!"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Joey woke up slowly, registering the fact he'd been asleep. His brain was foggy, sluggish… And why was there a pile of presents on the table?

He sat up. Yes, he hadn't been imagining it, there really _was _presents there. But who…? Had his friends been here…?

Disorientated, he looked at the clock, yelling in surprise. It was early evening already, and he _still _hadn't got the comic done! He hadn't even _started_!

_It was going to be so special… _He thought, bitterly. _I was going to make it as an animation and reveal who I was and…it would have been so great… But there's no way I could get it done before tomorrow now… I don't even have any ideas!_

His computer's power light was flashing. On… off…on…off… Driving him nuts. Didn't it realise he was trying to wallow in self-pity!

Wait. Why was it on standby anyway?

He began to get a sinking feeling as he headed over to the computer and hit enter to bring it back on. Sure enough, it _was _on, and, more to the point, opened to his webpage.

Feeling getting worse…

He scanned the page anxiously. Yes, there. A new link. Like when there was one to the current page. Only… It was to a Flash file.

His sinking feeling had hit rock bottom. Oh, please, no, they hadn't…

They had.

He pressed 'play' and sat back, dreading what he was going to see.

For a moment, there was just a blank, white, screen. He turned on the speaker. There were slight scuffling sounds, muffled voices coming from 'off camera'. A moment later, someone stumbled out into view, as though they had been pushed. She straightened up, and he could see that it was a girl, with wings, a brightly coloured jacket, glasses…

A chibified Azreal. A caricature. Oh, no…

On the monitor, she sweat dropped. "Ano… O-ohayo! Ano, Hougei gekiga!" She yelled (A/N: _(Sweat drops herself) _Please excuse my very bad Japanese. I've never had a lesson, so most of this is just what I've picked up and a bit of guess work. If anyone would care to correct me on anything, feel free, because I'd love to learn… but hopefully it's not too bad…) "Tsubasa to moshimasu, hajimemashite!"

Joey noticed English subtitles flashing up at the bottom. Of course. His European readers wouldn't be able to run a cartoon through a translator…

_"Um… H-hello! Um, welcome to the comic! I am Wings, nice to meet you!"_

The title screen flashed up, reading 'The 500th Comic! Or lack thereof…" In bright lettering, flashing different colours.

"Suteki da ne?"

_"Isn't it wonderful?"_

On screen, the title screen disappeared, leaving 'Wings' standing there. After a long pause, she sweat dropped again. "Ano… chotto matte kudasai!"

_"Uh… Please wait a moment!"_

She disappeared to the side. The scuffling sounds came again, and she flew back into view, defiantly kicked this time. You could tell because a foot came in with her before disappearing again.

She climbed painfully to her feet. (A/N: And here, my v. rusty Japanese runs out. Hey, I tried…) "…I bet you're wondering why I'm…we're here instead of your usual Author. Well, there's a very good reason."

Crickets chirped.

"He's asleep. Or rather, very, very ill. See?"

Joey regretted telling them that he was going to reveal who he was when a photo of him, sleeping, appeared on screen. But, man, he looked like the living dead.

"So we're filling in!" 'Wings' continued cheerfully. "By we, I mean me, and I ended up doing the drawing, which is why it's all the crummy Chibis. Also, we have DM-"

A picture of Yugi, again, chibified, sitting at something. Joey couldn't tell what it was till a label flashed up saying 'Computer'.

"Who's programming it all for us; Juilliard wrote the story-"

Yup, Téa was in on it to.

"Wikket is supplying the subs for all you English speaking peoples out there…"

And Ryou.

"And then there's this guy. Trojan Horse. And he… well, he just kinda hangs around. And he did the voices of some of the characters."

There was Tristan.

All of them in a group popped up.

"We've all been friends with AngelAuthor a long time." 'Wings' explained. "Except for me, I've been here less then a year, but it doesn't matter! A very happy birthday to AngelAuthor, and we hope you feel better soon, Joey! Now, roll comic!"

The comic itself, was a joke. It was just some stick-men vaguely recognisable as the regular characters having a conversation about the good and bad times of the last 500 strips, and making demands such as higher pay, dressing rooms, and peanuts in the make up room.

As it finished, showing his friends in an exhausted pile, wondering how he did every other day, Joey leant back.

He wasn't sure what to make of it. And goodness knows what his readers would think…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Posted By: AngelAuthor

At: 12:47 PM JST

Subject: A few days later, one year older, Feeling much better…

Today. The REAL 500th strip, a few days late, but hopefully you don't mind. Although, it seems you guys liked the first one well enough… Over the last few days, my inbox has been bombarded- I even had to upgrade to one with a bigger memory! It's kinda flattering that so many of you guys can't believe I'm that idiot/want to wish me better or a happy birthday/loved my friends. Well, you're right, they do rock. But it's not just readers that have contacted me, I've also been invited to about a million conventions, so I hope to see you guys at at least some of them! In all honesty, this is all a little overwhelming for me…

Now, I have two announcements. First, after the success of the flash cartoon format, from this day on, **_ALL _**the comics shall be cartoons! The second, by popular demand, I'm pleased to tell you all that all my friends have agreed to join me permanently to help this comic along. I shall continue with the art work and story, but you will be seeing quite a bit of them, with, for the most part, the same as before. However, Wings will be helping Wikket with subtitles, as she's multilingual- but I fully intend to get her to do some Chibi t-shirt art for me, because I sure can't. Which, by the way, thanks to the help of Juilliard and Trojan Horse, we're finally getting a store! That's right! Slowly but surely, more and more AwBW products will be available! You asked for it, now you're getting it! But not yet. It would seem all but one of my friends, whilst here working on the comic, managed to catch my flu or whatever it was.

Oops…

This is a whole new stage for this comic, and so, here's hoping it works out!

Seto smirked slightly as he read the post. Joey still hadn't accepted it was him who was his forum master. Now he wasn't needed any more. Oh well. He quickly typed out an E-mail or resignation, lying through his teeth to make sure Joey thought that Azreal had lied. He'd tell her, of course, and she would understand.

It'd been fun, at times. Now, though, Wheeler had his friends, and Seto would be free at last. As the E-mail sent, he smiled. Now he'd have a lot more time to…

…Work.

Oiy. What a boring life.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: There. Next time, we see the return of cuteness because it's February- and that means Valentines day! Oiy, one of these days, all this cuteness is going to kill me… And now, I have to go work on… certain… other things… Oh, by the way, there probably won't be a chapter on Saturday. Why? Because I shall be in Aberystwyth. Which, considering I can spell that, is pretty amazing…


	17. Crying in the Rain

A/N: Whee, another day, another chapter. I'm getting back into the swing of daily updates… just in time to go back to school on Tuesday. D'oh.

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **Hmmph! With respect, my chapters are longer then yours, and I update more... Only joking. I couldn't be annoyed at you. Although, if you tell me what else YOU would put in the chapter, I'll tell you where you can shove it... :P Annnyhoo... As to the fluff, you may have noticed a distinct lack of Seto last chapter. So unless you were expecting her to get with Joey... Ahem. Anyways, you needn't worry about squealing yourself to death this chapter either... It's odd...

**Dragonlady222: **...Eh? Look, I've been feeling dumb recently, so I'm afraid I don't quite understand... Sorry... but, 'real gift'? Let's work on the assumption, for a second, that you meant thegifts they brought him. _(Sweatdrop) _Well, in my defense,do you know how hard it is to think of enough presents for everyone! I'm rapidly running out of ideas...

Disclaimer: Out of anything vaguely interesting to say, so… Oh, the song, 'Dashing away with the smoothing Iron' is just an old folk song, to be sung in… well, kind of a Yorkshire accent, if that means anything.

And now, chapter 15, in which Seto, Az, Ryou, me and possibly you guys get very confused. And it's probably not what you were expecting…

Fifteen: Crying in the Rain

_February_

Laughing, Azreal stood up. Another lunchtime over, another Friday almost done, another weekend ahead. Life just kept moving on.

"I'll see you later, Seto." She sighed as she picked up her bag. "If you get home from work soon enough, that is…"

"Az!" Seto said suddenly, gently grabbing her arm to stop her moving off. "You don't need to get Mokuba tonight. He's spending a night at his friends, that's all."

"Oh." She replied, almost disappointed. She quite enjoyed hanging out with Mokuba. She was starting to get good at _Soul Calibre_ now… She should really get it for her Gamecube, and then she could have Link… "Then I guess I'll see you Monday, Seto." There was no chance he'd have the weekends off. Okay, so _technically_ he had Sunday, but he'd just end up working from home…

"You could come round anyway…" Seto tried slyly. "I may have taken the exact night Mokuba wasn't home off… purely by accident, of course."

Azreal laughed. "I'd love to. In that case, I'll see you after school…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It had rained and rained for days, and had never stopped for more then a few minutes, and it looked set to do it for a few more. But at that moment, Azreal decided she didn't care as she stood on the school porch with Seto, looking out.

"It's really tipping it down…" Seto commented. "I can barely see… Ah, there's the car…"

She caught his hand, and he looked at her curiously.

"Let's walk." She said spontaneously. "Let's walk it."

Seto shrugged.

"Alright."

And so, they blew off the ride home, and they walked back to the mansion through the streaming rain, laughing as they ran and splashed along the pavement.

And she didn't let go of his hands.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

By the time they got back to Seto's, they were absolutely soaked.

He looked at her, bangs stuck to her cheeks, water sliding down her face, glasses collecting water that eventually dripped down her nose; until she took them off and wiped them ineffectively on her sodden jacket.

She looked at him through blurred lenses, hair slicked to his forehead, running in streams down the sides of his face, and dribbling down his neck; he absently rubbed at them as she removed her glasses and attempted to dry them off on wet clothes.

"You're gonna get one serious cold." Seto said, trying to sound stern.

"As are you." She replied, smiling.

They promptly began to warm each other up, only separating when Azreal really did start to shiver from the cold.

Seto looked at her disapprovingly.

"You need a shower." He decided. "A hot one. In the meantime, if you shove your clothes outside the door, they can go in the dryer."

"And what about you?" She asked. He smirked.

"You think we don't have more then one bathroom?" He replied. "And, unlike you, I have a change of clothes here. Because I live here."

"And yet, I seem to be here more then you are." She giggled.

"Yes." Seto replied seriously. "I'm considering charging you rent."

"Then I'll charge you for 'baby sitting'." She smirked back.

"I don't need to retaliate to that. Mokuba would hate you on principal if you did that."

"Heh." Azreal laughed. "Then I guess you win."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto didn't employ many staff _inside _the house, just a cleaner who came in once or twice a week. She was an old, arthritic lady, and Seto often felt like he was taking advantage of her. But she really seemed to love it, and could often be located by her cheerful singing. It was a constant mystery to Seto how she managed to clean the entire house in just a few hours, but she did, and to a state that even Seto couldn't complain about. Pointing Az in the direction of the closest bathroom, he set off to find the elusive Ms. Mary Portly. Before too long, he could hear her cheery voice echoing down the hall.

"'Twas on a Monday Mor-or-ning that I beheld me dar-ar-ling, she looked so sweet an' char-ar-ming in every fine degree!"

Yes, defiantly on this floor…

"She looked so sweet an' char-ar-ming a' hangin' out her wash-ash-in'…!"

Getting closer, in one of these rooms…

"Dahin' away wiv the smoothin' iron, dashing away with the smoothing iron…"

Seto patiently waited for her to finish her song.

"She stole me heart-art awaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

He knocked on the door to find her polishing, and politely asked her to run Az's clothes through the dryer and then put them back.

"Will do, sir." Was all she said. She didn't ask any questions. "But, if I may say, you need to dry off yourself or you'll catch your death, you will!"

Seto didn't comment, thanking her and leaving.

She smiled. There had once been a day when she knew he had only been polite because he couldn't get anyone who'd do her job better. But now…

She'd be glad to dry off the girl's clothes. Mokuba loved her, so did Mr Kaiba himself, and all in all, she'd been a blessing to this house.

Maybe she'd even iron them. She quite fancied a bit of ironing…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When, a shower and a change of clothes later, Seto returned to the main room, Azreal wasn't there. But the bathroom door had been ajar when he'd passed it, so she wasn't in there either…

She was nowhere in sight.

However, there was a rather delicious smell coming from the kitchen, so he went to investigate. And, predictably, he found Azreal there, washing something off her hands.

"What's going on?" he asked, although it was a pretty silly question. "Az?"

"I felt uncomfortable just sitting there." She replied, getting the last of the mash of her hands and heading to the fridge. "And I knew we'd just end up eating take out, so I decided to make my special Shepherds Pie." She pulled some cheese out the fridge. "Now, where do you keep your cheese grater?"

"In the draw to your left," Seto replied mechanically. "What's so special about this pie, then, in comparison to all the others?" He teased lightly.

"One hundred percent real Shepherd." Azreal grunted in reply, beginning to grate the cheese.

"I'm serious…" Seto threatened.

Azreal laughed. "Firstly, it's my favourite thing to make, if not to eat. Secondly, I put cheese on it. Excuse me."

She pulled on some oven gloves and pushed past him. "Yup, I'd say that's done… for now." She placed it on top of the stove before turning the oven off. Pulling off the gloves, she grabbed her small pile of grated cheese and spread it over the top of the potato.

"That's real mash, there." Azreal informed him, as she slotted the 'pie' into the grill, gloves back on. "Oh, that has cheese in it to. Mokuba loves this stuff, so I don't see any reason why you shouldn't." She swatted him with the oven glove as she took it off.

And Seto continued to stand there in bewilderment. He couldn't quite understand why she couldn't stand to be in the front room on her own, but had no qualms about cooking a meal…

A few moments later, she was dishing it up, onto three plates.

"One for you…" She explained. "One for me… and one for your brownies."

"My what?" Seto asked in confusion.

"Your brownies." Azreal repeated. "Or House-elves. Or Oompa-loompas. Or whatever it is that not only dried my clothes, but, I suspect, washed and ironed them in the twenty minutes I was in the shower."

Seto laughed. "I'll tell her you appreciated it." He promised as she left it in the oven to keep warm. She passed him a plate, and he squinted at it suspiciously.

"Is this edible?"

She poked him. "More so then what you cook." She replied, archly.

Seto had to admit, it _did _smell lovely…

The rain continued to tumble down and down, but they talked and ate and laughed in cycle, and generally had a great time.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal became dimly aware that the sound of rain on the window had stopped"I should go." She yawned, straightening up, pulling herself off Seto's shoulder. She forced herself to stand up. It was getting dangerously close to her falling asleep on his sofa again. "While the storm's letting up."

Seto stood to. "Do you want a lift?"

"No, it's okay, I'll walk thanks." Azreal replied, stretching. "I had a great time tonight… phone me this weekend if you get time, alright?"

"Of course." Seto smiled. "Have you ever seen _Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves_?"

Azreal blinked at the abrupt change of subject. "You mean 'The Swashbuckling adventure film with just the right mix of humour, action and romance'? Of course, I love it. Why?"

"They're re-showing it at the cinema in a week. On Valentine's night." Seto told her.

"You don't want to go to the dance?" She asked, in mock surprise. He laughed.

"I'd rather jump in a swimming pool full of acid." He responded. "I hate dances." Then he looked at her face. Not mock surprise. _Real _surprise. "Az?"

"Oh, Seto…" She said. "I'm…so sorry, I didn't even think… It's just Téa, she was so excited, I kinda got caught up… she made it seem like so much fun, you know, I've never been to one before… I should've thought…"

"Ssh." Seto said, keeping his face carefully blank. "I'm not going to force you out of anything you want to do."

"And I'm not going to force you into anything you don't want to do." Azreal replied.

Silence fell.

"Well," Seto said, his voice steady even as his thoughts were reluctant. "There's no rule saying we _have _to do something together."

"No." Azreal agreed hastily. "We don't always have to be joined at the hip."

"Of course we don't. We'll just do something another time."

"Yes."

"Fine."

"Great."

"Well, see you, Seto." Azreal said, reluctantly.

"Goodnight."

She left.

It _was _great and fine. It was the logical choice. A perfectly sensible thing to do, so now they'd both get to do what they wanted- or didn't want to- do. It was the best thing to do.

So why did they both feel awful?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"They're not talking…" Téa said, worry clouding her eyes. "Just… eating."

"You might not want to watch so blatantly, Téa." Ryou told her, sneaking a glance across the canteen towards Seto and Anna himself. "But you're right. They have seemed awkward with each other recently."

"I wonder if they had an argument…?" Yugi thought aloud. "But then, why are they still eating together?"  
"I hate to admit it," Joey said, shrugging. "But Azreal has seemed kinda down recently. I hope she sorts it out with him- I hate seeing her so miserable all the time!"

"It's the Valentines dance tonight." Tristan pointed out. "She'll cheer up, you'll see."

"That's right!" Téa clapped her hands. "She _has _to! She came shopping with Mai and I on Saturday, and she got the most gorgeous dress- oh, Kaiba's just going to _die _when he sees her in it!" She sent a sly glance at Joey. "Although, Mai's is pretty nice to…"

"Mai's coming?" Yugi asked in surprise. "Doesn't that mean someone from this school had to ask her?"

"Yup!" Téa continued cheerily as Joey tried desperately not to choke on his food. "I wonder who it could be…?" She tapped her chin in apparent wonder, waiting for Joey to admit it. It wasn't like he could get any more obvious.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"They're late…" Joey muttered, anxiously. Yugi laughed.

"You sure are nervous, aren't you?" He chuckled. "If she didn't want to go with you, she wouldn't have said yes."

"Yugi, this is _Mai. _She'd just want to come to the dance."

"Phfft." Yugi scoffed. "I don't know how you can say that after the way she kissed you on Christmas Eve…"

"Mmm…" Joey rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

Yugi and Joey were waiting outside the school, standing under the porch to avoid the rain, for Téa, Mai, and Azreal. The original plan was that they were all going to met up and go inside together, but Ryou, looking like he'd rather have stayed home, had been dragged off sometime ago by his girlfriend, Duke was no doubt out 'playing the field', and Tristan was probably attempting to follow his example.

"Besides," Yugi continued. "You heard what Téa said earlier. She and Mai are planning to ambush Azreal and make sure she gets dressed up for this. Apparently, they had a hard time just getting her to buy the dress, so you can bet it's going to be easier said then done."

Joey laughed. "I feel sorry for the girl. Oh, here they are." A taxi had just pulled up, and was currently regurgitating Téa.

You knew she was looking better then ever just by Yugi's face. Téa was in the traditional 'little red number', with no sleeves, just thin straps running over her shoulders. It was beautiful in it's simplicity, just like Téa, widening slightly at her waist, giving her enough room to move comfortably. She looked good, that much was plain by the fact that Yugi was turning a colour to match her dress.

Before Joey had time to have a good laugh at him though, Mai climbed out of the car. Her dress was tight, and black, and in relative terms to the rest of her clothes, long- it reached all the way down to her knees. Then Yugi wasn't the only one blushing.

The last one out of the car was Azreal, looking apprehensive, and Joey and Yugi looked at her to calm their faces and pulses a little.

Téa hadn't been lying about that dress. Kaiba would, most likely, keel over when he saw her. The thing was, by modern stereotypes, Azreal was not beautiful. Cute, perhaps, in the same way that a hamster was, but not beautiful. Yet, with that small, nervous smile on her face, in that pale blue, white, silver- who could tell- dress that showed a shape she seemed unknowingly to hide, she really did look radiant. It was the smile that did it. She was one of those people who seemed to have a smile that lit up their entire face, would make them beautiful even if they'd ploughed through an entire rainforest of ugly-trees.

"You guys look great!" Yugi managed to get out when they were close enough, having run through the rain.

"I feel like an idiot." Azreal laughed. "I've never owned a dress before…"

"You don't look like one." Téa promised, sounding approving. "You look wonderful. Seto's going to love it!"

"Oh, Seto's not coming…" Azreal replied, trying to keep her tone light. "But I thought I'd come and play wall-flower."

They stood in an embarrassed silence

"Well," Mai said eventually. "Are we going in or are we just going to stand here!" She took Joey's arm, and the group of them trooped inside.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Meanwhile, Seto was working on his computer. Or, he was supposed to be, anyway. In actuality, he was idly playing Minesweeper. Beside him on his desk was the present and card he'd got Az for Valentines. A silly, sentimental gesture.

Would she even accept them?

Of course she would. They hadn't had an argument. They had just… gone their separate ways.

Not a big deal.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Once, when Azreal was still in musing school, Ruby had returned from a job inspiring a band, explaining that she had left when they'd got back on track, playing at a school dance. Human dances were odd, she had commented, because people seem to do more talking then actual dancing.

Well, that had certainly proved true. Azreal was standing alone for the first time that night, swaying slightly to the music. A slow song, so all the others were with their respective partners. She sought them out in the mass of moving people.

Joey and Mai, she had seen very little of. They'd hardly let go of each other all evening.

Yugi was dancing with Téa, laughing. So was she, and Azreal joined in as she watched Téa whispering instructions to him. Apparently, he still hadn't got the hang of this dancing lark.

It was scarily like her dream all those months ago, because Tristan really _was _dancing with Ribbon. But he was holding his own, and not treading on her feet _too_ much, so it was alright.

Even Duke, who had been surrounded by girls all night, had chosen one, and they were dancing together. At that second, it didn't look like she was the only one who thought it was the start of a _real_ relationship…

Azreal wondered vaguely what Seto was doing at that moment. She knew he didn't like dancing, but she wondered if he was any good at it. It would be just like when he held her, only moving… his warmth, the beating of his heart, and the beat of the music as they swayed…

_No! _Azreal stopped the thoughts right there. _Don't think about it… _She told herself over and over again, because she knew that if she did it might just stick a knife in her chest. Feelings didn't listen to logic.

Trying to distract herself, Azreal searched for the last of her friends… Ah, there he was- Ryou, his hair catching the light. He was talking to his girlfriend, but they were hardly moving now. Suddenly, she pulled out of his grasp, slapped him hard round the face, and ran out of the room. As Ryou straightened his head, rubbing his cheek, her friends ran out after her. He wandered back over to where Azreal was standing, ignoring the looks being thrown at him, to where the group of them had been standing all night, looking surprised.

"Wow." Azreal commented. Judging by the way Ryou's head had snapped back, she had hit him hard. "What did you do?"

"…I'm not sure." Ryou admitted, rubbing the side of his face. "We were just talking, and she asked me if I liked to dance. And I said, 'No, not really', and she pulled a face like this-" He demonstrated a semi-surprised, semi-annoyed face which quickly changed to a sort of half smirk. "And asked me why, in that case, I was dancing."

"And what did you say?" Azreal asked, trying to suppress a laugh. She had a feeling that she knew where this was going…

"That I was dancing because she told me to." Ryou replied, sounding thoroughly baffled.

Azreal really did laugh. "Ah, well, yes, I think that would've been your opening to say something romantic, Ryou."  
He blinked. "Really?"

"Yes." Azreal grinned. "You know, tell her that you didn't like dancing but you liked dancing with _her, _that it didn't matter what you had to do if it meant being close to her…that kind of thing."

"Oh…" Ryou said, as though he hadn't thought of that. Which he evidently hadn't.

"I mean, for pity's sake Ryou, all you had to say was 'because I love you'…" Azreal shook her head. "You really are clueless."

"Well…" Ryou shrugged. "I guess… but she always said she liked someone who was honest…"

"You don't sound like you're enjoying this relationship all that much…" Azreal commented.

Ryou said nothing, continuing to rub his stinging cheek absently.

"Here." She said, changing the subject. "You'd better let me have a look at that… she must have got you hard if it's still hurting…"

"It's alright." Ryou said, hastily.

"It's obviously not." Azreal raised her eyebrows. "Just let me look… It's not like you can see the side of your face, is it?" She poked his chin gently, but also firmly, turning his face so she could see.

By this point, the others had realised something was up and were making their way over.

Azreal gave a low whistle. "Wow. That's gonna hurt in the morning…"

"It's rather hurting now, actually…" Ryou admitted, half laughing.

"Yeah, you're going to want to put some ice on that, mate, or your face is gonna swell up like-" She began to pull away, releasing him as the song drew to a close. But before she could let him go completely, before she could even finish her sentence, a loud scream interrupted her. Ryou's livid soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend stormed up to them.

"I've not been gone five minutes and you're already with another girl!" She accused.

"No, I-" Ryou began, but- and he really should've seen this coming- she slapped him harshly again, this time on the other side of his face, shot Azreal a dirty look, and stormed off again.

"Well, at least you match now…" Joey tried, arriving.

"Yeah," Tristan said slowly. "I think you just got dumped, Ryou."

"It certainly seems likely." Ryou replied. He didn't sound too bothered.

"I'm so sorry!" Azreal wailed. "I totally didn't mean to, I didn't realise she would think-"

Ryou held a hand up to stop her.

"It wasn't working out anyway." He said, sounding positively cheerful. "I wanted to dump her, but couldn't figure out how to do it without hurting her feelings. But I think that problem has just been solved for me. And now you have a fellow wallflower for company!"

Azreal laughed. "I guess I do… but you really might want to go put some ice on that. On them, I guess."

"I suppose you're right." Ryou said, as though the notion had only just occurred to him. "In that case, I'll be back shortly…"

He wandered off, looking as lost as ever. Gradually, her friends drifted back out onto the floor as another slow song came on, and Azreal was left standing, swaying alone.

The night had certainly been…eventful.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was standing alone, watching the dancers, perfectly happy.

Well, almost. She was having fun. Except for the niggling guilt…

_Oh, shut up. _She told it irritably. _We're old enough now to be mature about doing something _separately. _It's not a _crime_. Go away._

"Are you all alone…?" Someone asked her sympathetically. She turned, recognising him. Daisuke something-or-other, from the year above. He was popular, yes, but it seemed to be for a good reason. He was a decent guy, and a good laugh.

"At this precise second, yes." Azreal replied easily. "But my friend should be back in a minute."

"Oh, the guy who got slapped, right?" He asked. "That looked painful…is he okay?"

"Actually, he seems rather happy about it." Azreal laughed.

"What about you?" he asked suddenly. "Don't answer if you don't want, but you've seemed pretty down in the dumps all night…"

"Well…" Azreal began, embarrassed.

"Look, it's Anna, isn't it?" He asked.

"That's right…" She nodded, heart pounding.

"Well, let's dance, Anna." He said, holding out a hand. She hesitated. "Oh, come on…" He said, sympathetically. "It's a shame to come to a dance and not do any dancing."

"Now?" Anna asked hesitantly. He was right, but it _was _a slow song…

"Duh." He looked confused.

Oh, why not?

"Sure." Anna smiled, placing her small bag on her chair and taking his hand. "I'd love to."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto growled in frustration, slamming his elbows down as he held his head, the keyboard bleeping in protest. He just couldn't concentrate! All he could thing about was her face, after he'd told her he didn't want to go…

_She understood that I didn't want to go, _Seto told himself. Again. _I hate dancing._

_You're just scared… _another voice in the back of his head.

_No I'm not. I just hate dancing. _He replied stubbornly. Great. Now he was arguing with himself.

_You are. You're scared of looking stupid…_

_No, I just hate dancing! _And now he was yelling at himself. And still, all he could think was how disappointed she'd looked…

_Okay, fine. You hate dancing- but don't you love her?_

_…_

Internal conflict over.

Seto stood up, cursing. And grabbed his coat.

"Mokuba!" He yelled, as he began to pound down the stairs. "I'm going out!"

"Where?" Mokuba asked, appearing from his room.

"Where do you think?" Seto replied, smiling grimly. "Mokuba, I'm a fool."

His younger brother tutted. "_That's _what I've been _trying _to tell you _all night_! Well… good luck then!"

"Here's hoping I won't need it." Seto answered, slamming the front door behind him as he plunged out into the rain.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou's quest for ice had been unsuccessful. However, he had managed to get himself a drink. That had ice _in _it, at least. He'd got one for Anna to, but…

Where was she?

Her bag was still on the chair, but she was nowhere to be seen. Getting a sudden sinking feeling, he scanned the hall for her.

And there she was, dancing to a slow song with some guy from the year above.

Oh no… Ryou averted his eyes. What was he supposed to do? He hadn't been here to stop her, to make her see sense…

He didn't know what she was playing at, but he hoped to dear goodness she'd see sense. She'd been with Seto too long and had been too good with him to drop it all like this… She was making a big mistake.

And he could only stand by and watch her make it.

Kaiba really needed to get his backside down here.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Anna tried to convince herself she wasn't doing anything wrong as they moved. Daisuke was right. It was just a dance. Why shouldn't she? She was at a dance. Why couldn't she dance? And nothing Seto said would convince her otherwise.

_Only, _something inside reminded her. _He's not saying anything. It's you who can't convince yourself._

Still, it was just a dance. It wasn't like she was kissing the guy. Although, the song was finishing, and she could feel him pressing against her, and leaning towards her…

_He wouldn't look twice at you if you weren't all dressed up._

So what?

_Seto would. You know. He did._

Yes, but Seto wasn't here. _Seto _hadn't come with her, _Seto _hadn't danced with her, _Seto _hadn't made her feel special…

_You didn't exactly make him feel special either…_

Whatever. After all,Anna reminded herself as he loomed ever closer. It's how you end a slow dance. Part of the dance, everyone else was kissing. It's just a dance.

Just a dance…

Just a dance that she wanted to dance with Seto.

She leapt away from him, feeling disgusted with herself. She had been about to… she would've…

"What's wrong?" He asked, and, looking in his eyes, she could see the concern was false.

"You tell me…" She whispered. "What _is _wrong…?"

She meant herself, of course, but he answered anyway.

"You won't kiss me… And so, I'm going to lose money." He added spitefully.

Azreal looked up at him in confusion.

"A bet, sweet pea." He explained, laughing at her. Then he saw she wasn't laughing with him as she realised she'd been fooled. "Hey, don't look at me like that… It's just a joke, no need to get all offended… I was just having a bit of fun, seeing how far you'd go, that's all…"

She wanted to slap him. She wanted to slap him so much. _He _had got her to dance with him, _he _had tried to kiss _her…_

But she knew that wasn't true. Because she could have said no. Only she didn't. She went and danced with him, and she had almost…

She ran from the hall, ignoring those who called out to her.

How could she face other people when she couldn't face herself…?

She ran and ran until she crashed almost painfully into the school fence, sobbing, tears mixing with the rain. Shuddering, she covered her face. What was _wrong _with her? What _had _she done?

"You've really gone and done it this time…" Azreal muttered. "You've really gone and done it…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal vaguely became aware that the rain had stopped. Only… No, it hadn't. Someone was holding an umbrella over them both.

"You know," Seto said softly. "People say that you can cry in the rain then no-one will see. But there's an art to it. Because I can always tell…" _And I can't bear it. _He added mentally. He couldn't. Couldn't stand to see her standing out here, all alone, crying… because of him. "Your friends said I might find you out here." He added. She still hadn't said anything. Why wasn't she saying anything?

"Listen, Az…" He said uncertainly. She didn't turn round and face him. She didn't stop crying. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I didn't realise how much this dance meant to you…Heck, if it means that much, we can go in there right now and we'll dance, just please, please stop!"

"Did my friends tell you _why _I was out here?" Azreal sniffed, not turning round.

"Az… I never meant to hurt you… I hate to see you crying because of me… Please, stop it. Just… stop, please."

Azreal couldn't stand it. He thought it was him. She just found herself crying harder, and she could _feel _his concern, even though she couldn't see him, knew that his eyes would be full of worry and fear and a million other things…

"Azreal…" He tried again. "I'm sorry… I didn't want to hurt you, I just didn't realise-" He reached out as he talked, covering the small distance between them that the umbrella would allow and touched her shoulder in the vain hope that she'd turn around. "I was stupid, I didn't know-"

"Stop it!" Azreal yelled suddenly, pulling away from him, back out into the rain. "Just stop it! I can't stand it!"

Seto looked shocked, but he didn't try to move close to her again.

"It's not you…" She cried. "It's not you… _You're_ not the stupid one, it's me! Just like it's always me! I just wanted to feel good! I…I just wanted to dance a slow dance with another person! I just wanted to feel beautiful, but I don't, I feel ugly, because I should have realised, I didn't _want _to dance a slow song, I wanted to dance a slow song _with you_, and I didn't figure that out! I'm the stupid one for not realising… for thinking that he'd like me… for thinking that it didn't mean anything… It was my first slow dance, and it _did _mean something, something I didn't want it to mean! Because I should have waited! I should have waited for you and…" She just collapsed into tears, able to get no more words out.

"Azreal!" Seto cried, trying to figure out what she was talking about. And more or less failing. "I don't care! I don't care! I didn't realise it meant that much to you! Look, I'll go in there and dance with you if it'll make everything alright again…"

"No…" She whispered, shaking her head. "You've always been 'alright', Seto, it's me who's screwed up… and… and you don't deserve it!" She just ran. She hardly knew what she was doing, but she ran.

Seto looked after her. He still wasn't entirely sure about what was going on. And did he go after her, or give her space to think?

_Go after her! _The voice screamed. _Go after her, you eejit!_

Wait. What kind of a word was eejit? And why was he saying it to himself all of a sudden?

Seto turned. Ah, so it hadn't been his thoughts after all. Bakura had apparently come out just in time to see Azreal leg it.

"What are you waiting for, Kaiba!" Ryou roared at him. "She must still love you if she didn't kiss him! So-Go, already!"

At first, Seto wasn't going to. It really wasn't any of Bakura's business…

But then, it wasn't like Seto had any better ideas. So he went after her.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal stared down at the floor, scuffling the wet gravel with her feet. She wanted to look up into the sky, but the rain stung her eyes. She sighed deeply, all cried out. She'd really screwed up. Seto didn't deserve this. She would have kissed Daisuke, she was sure, if… if what? If she hadn't been thinking about Seto the entire time?

The bottom line was, whoever she had been thinking about, she hadn't been dancing with Seto. But how did she know that it wouldn't happen again, and if it did, how did she know that this time she really _wouldn't _kiss them? It had come close this time…

As if her life hadn't been uncertain enough already. And Seto didn't need all this hurt on top of all the rest he'd had in his life. He would've been better off if she'd never showed up! Then he would still have his indifference and nothing, not her, not anyone or anything would hurt him. Her future was uncertain, he didn't need that. And how was he ever going to trust her now?

"You realise that you've probably ruined that dress." He said, gently, sitting down next to her. So, he'd followed her all the way out to this lonely little park bench.

"I know." Azreal said quietly. "…I'm so sorry…

"Az…" He said, unsure of what was going to come out. He decided to disengage his brain and let his mouth do the talking. "Look, personally, I think you're overreacting. So you danced with someone else. Big whoop. You stopped short of kissing him, and that means a lot more, speaking personally. I don't care about some dumb dance- it's you that's doing this to yourself, can't you see that…? I couldn't care less, but it's fairly obvious you think you'd screwed up big time. So you shouldn't be asking me to forgive you. You need to forgive yourself, no? And, for pete's sake, just stop with all the self-pity. It'll kill you." He stood up, shrugging. "Look… this isn't you. You're not yourself." He looked at her. Earlier, she would have looked so beautiful in that dress, with the make up that was running down her face… but it wasn't her. "Just go home, get your ordinary clothes back on, and go back to being the Az I know."

She didn't reply, still staring at the ground. Seto couldn't see what she was thinking, but he had to give it one last shot.

"Here." He said, pulling the small present and card out of his pocket and putting them down next to her. "…Happy Valentines Day."

Seto turned and went to walk away. The ball was in her court now. She'd have to decide what they did next. If she thought just that little thing was irredeemable, then… He continued to walk, and she didn't call him back. Inside, he felt resigned… Oh well, Seto. Time to go back to being alone…

"Seto!" He turned instantly. She _was _calling him. She was standing up, holding the gift. "Seto!" She paused, looking a little sheepish.

"The dance is still going on, you know." He offered.

"Mmm." She sighed. "But… if we hurry, we might make the last showing of _Robin Hood_."

Seto looked at her, smiling.

She looked back. "Just let me go home and get changed first."

"I'll wait." He promised.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: There. Happy, if confusing and predictable, ending. Now I have to go before certain people take up on their threat to strangle me with my mouse if I didn't write something cuter then this. Oh, and I also have to figure out what's gonna happen over the next 3 months, unless you're ready to accept 'In March, April and May, nothing happened'… But it's about time we made **Willowwind **Squeal at the fluff again, don't cha think?


	18. Phoenix Down

A/N: Well, after much struggle, I'm back with what will be the last of the basically-every-other-day updates, because I'm back at school tomorrow! Ahhhhh!

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **One: Thanks! Two: You should take your own advice... Three: You should over here, where there is no ritalin and we are free to be hyper all we like! WHEEEEEEE!

**Dragonlady222**: Ahhhhhhhhh, now I understand... Do you know, I never even thought of that... Oh well. Hopefully you'll like the rest of the story just as much!

Disclaimer: I don't even own the letters I type this with. Sad, isn't it? Lyrics to the song 'Suteki Da Ne', from FFX, are downstairs.

And so, without further ado, let's get to the chapter- Come on. I know you've always wanted to 'see' Seto using a sword.

Sixteen: Phoenix Down

_March_

It was unusually humid for this time of year, so for many the air seemed too heavy and sticky to sleep well. Tempers were wearing thin, so were nerves, and in general everyone was pretty grumpy.

One person who didn't seem to have the patience to be grumpy for more then a few seconds was Anna Mitsan. So, this morning early in March, even as she woke up trembling in sweat-soaked sheets, she didn't stop to dwell on the half-formed nightmares. Instead, she got up, tiredly had a long shower and got dressed. And it was still way too early to do anything. Stupidly early. Insanely early.

Anna groaned. That took it up to the last five days she'd done this. She wasn't sure if the dreams had anything to do with the heat- maybe she'd never know- but she sure hoped they stopped soon. She was too restless to sleep, and her bed too uncomfortable now. So, quietly, she kicked off her slippers, padded downstairs, and, slipping into the sensible shoes the school demanded they wore, she breezed out the house, feeling too cooped up inside.

Once she had walked a little way, the air began to clear a little. Gratefully, she lifted her head into the breeze that hadn't been for days. Perhaps they were finally going to get those winds the month normally promised. Either way, enjoying it, she decided to walk a little further.

And since she still had ages, she walked a little further, past the KC building, not open yet.

And still, there was time to kill, so she walked a little more, past Ryou's house, past the game shop, past the block of flats where Joey lived, and a little later, past where Téa did dance, right around the shopping centre, and still she went on, lost in thoughts about nothing in particular, and eventually found herself down by the Night Market. It sure looked different in the early morning sun, a small ramshackle cluster of stalls, a shanty town meandering around with no real direction to it. Even the carnival atmosphere had been replaced by a far more sleepy one, the stalls devoid of lights, or their stock, and even their customers. But it wasn't dead, not quite. A man and his daughter were just finishing closing up their stall, someone else was wandering around, collecting the small amount of let over litter. She really was here stupidly early.

Skirting round the edges of the market, Azreal slipped between two of the warehouses and out on to the jetty. Before she knew what she was doing, she was out on the edge if the pier, looking out towards the ocean. The pier was only short, and the tide still a few metres further out, so there was only sand below her. No-one else was around. The bay was very much an industrial one, and the sand was gravely. Not a big tourist destination, not even in summer.

Still, as Azreal sat down, swinging her legs aimlessly, she liked it. She looked out for a while, putting her hands in her pockets. There she felt a small case.

Her harmonica, still in her blazer pocket. She looked around hesitantly. There was no-one close enough to be annoyed… she still had a lot of time to kill, and she hadn't played much since the band had disbanded back in December.

Oh, why not?

So, for a while, Azreal sat there and played out to the wind and the waves. Then she got up, walked home, and was back before her dad and Ruby realised she had gone.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_April_

As March ploughed through into April, the Easter holidays came and went, and a new school year began, the hot weather faded; and yet, Azreal's dreams did not. Still they came, half formed shadows that lingered when she woke up. What she had started late last month had become somewhat routine. She'd wake up, get ready for school and head down to the pier, play, and then head back home in time for breakfast.

No-one knew, not even her friends or dad and step-mother. Although, perhaps they were all a little suspicious as to why she was getting to school on time all of a sudden… And they were worried. Or, Téa was anyway.

"She's obviously not getting enough sleep." She muttered to Yugi, a few lockers down from where Anna was looking for an elusive textbook. "Can't you see it?"

"You worry too much." Yugi said reassuringly. "Okay, I'll admit she _does _look a bit pale, but-"

He was interrupted by Anna sneezing loudly.

"Judging by they way she keeps doing that," He continued wryly. "She just has a bit of a cold. She certainly doesn't seem too bothered by it."

Privately, Téa thought that if Azreal had her head bitten off by a ravenous elephant she'd still be there pretending nothing was wrong, but she said nothing. After all, she knew something Yugi didn't. . _'Listen, Téa,'_ She'd said. _'Muses are a lot more stubborn then humans. We have a billion different defenses to keep alive. That's why I never get sick.'_

But now, if she _was _getting all the normal colds and maladies of everyday life, especially as she had had it for more then a week now…

How much longer did she have…?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Cold or no cold, Azreal still had hours in the early morning to kill, and she still whiled them away on the wharf. And still, no-one knew about it.

Little did she know, this morning, late in April, as she had been going for almost a month, she would be discovered.

As she played, beautiful, aimless melodies, Azreal found her thoughts wandering. Sometimes she would think about nothing little things, like why Swiss cheese had holes in it or why a recorder was called a recorder if it didn't record anything or why paper cuts hurt but razor cuts didn't; but often she would think deep thoughts, about herself, who she was, about life and death.

It couldn't be far now, Azreal knew it. The inability to sleep, the constant cold that never got any better or worse and wouldn't go away, even the inability to control her thoughts and concentrate. Her human side was dying. It was odd, her Muse half was so weak now that not even draining her human side couldn't sustain it. You would have thought that the Muse half would die, but still leave her thirty, forty years of human life, but it looked like it fully intended to take her human side down with it. Perhaps you couldn't live as half a person.

She was sick of all this confusion, sick of not knowing the answers, sick of all the uncertainty. As she so often did, she pushed it out of her mind. She was going to enjoy what time she had left.

Drawing out what would be the final note of her tuneless tune, she sighed, put it back in the case, and stood up quickly.

"That was very pretty."

"Gah!" Azreal jumped, having not realised anyone was there. She just had time to register it was Ryou and his dog before losing her balance and falling off the end of the pier.

Again.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Good job the tide was out," Anna commented, having made it back on to the pier and begun to brush the sand off her uniform. It didn't seem to want to move.

"I am sorry…" Ryou apologised again, although he had had to hide a laugh. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"I'll forgive you if you stop apologising." Anna sighed. They stood in silence for a moment.

"So, what brings you here?" Anna asked eventually.

"Cassie." Ryou shrugged. "I…woke up early, so I decided to walk her down here by the sea. And yourself?"

"I…I woke up early to." Anna shrugged herself. She should have figured Ryou would have his fair share of nightmares to.

"I'm guessing it's not the first time."

"Am I that obvious?" Anna sighed.

"Uh-huh." Ryou half-sighed, half-laughed. "Téa's going nuts. She says you're going to kill yourself if you don't get some proper sleep soon."

Anna snorted. "Huh. Easier said then done."

"I know." Ryou said. "But you have to at least try."

"I'm sick of trying…" She grumbled, though of course, Ryou didn't know the full story.

"But what else is there to do?" Ryou asked. He didn't know the full story, but he could make a fairly good guess. He'd been there, done that, and was perhaps more likely to understand then anyone else. He hadn't just been knocking at Death's door, he'd been invited in for a cup of tea and a biscuit. And he knew what it was like perhaps more so then the others did- the weariness, the sleepless nights, the nightmares… maybe that's why he had guessed. But he didn't say any of that. If Azreal didn't want to open up, then… "Oh well. I'll see you at school later."

"Bye…" Anna watched him go. He certainly was mysterious, that boy. And sometimes she got the feeling he knew more then he let on.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She was still spending her mornings playing on the pier. She was still waking up early, still having nightmares, and she still had her constant cold.

So, nothing had changed.

That morning, just as she reached the pier, pulled out her harmonica, and was about to sit down, her phone began to ring. Once again, she jumped, and this time she knew exactly what was going to happen as, yet again, she fell off the end.

"This seems to be becoming a habit…" She grumbled, clambering up. "Why can't they surprise me when I'm sitting down...? Oh, shut up!" She dug around in her pockets for the phone which, irritatingly enough, had not paused in it's cheery ringing as they fell.

"Hello?" She said, yawning to deliberately make whoever it was think she was still in bed at home. Her voice sounded odd. Her nose was blocked up-which had hindered her playing, somewhat.

"Hi." Seto's voice came. "Do you mind coming round to mine?"

"Why?" She blinked. Judging by Seto's tone, there was nothing wrong…

"I have something to show you." He said mysteriously. "Our one year anniversary…"

Azreal laughed. "I can give you three reasons why I shouldn't come."

"Oh?"

"Yup. A. It's still _way _too early, B. Our anniversary was at the start of this month, not the end- it's the last day of April, you know-you're about a month off-and C. I don't think my dad would be very happy if I started sneaking out in the mornings."

Seto chuckled. "You forgot D, E and F." He informed her.

"Oh?"

"D. You're already up, and, judging by the fact I can hear the waves, on the beach. E. I'm perfectly aware of when it was, but I wanted to get it perfect. Finally, F. I suspect you've been sneaking out of the house in the mornings for weeks, made all the easier today and for the rest of the week given as the rest of your family is staying with your 'ill' 'grandmother', about 4 hours outside of town, who hates you on principal."

"Hmm, you make a compelling argument." Azreal said in mock seriousness before sighing in resignation. "Fine. I'll be with you soon."

"Okay." She could practically hear him smirking. "Just try not to fall off the pier this time, like the last time we were at the beach."

"Hmmph." Azreal huffed, lying on her back in the sand. "I'm not _so _clumsy I'd do that more then once. Have a little faith, would you…?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Okay," She said the second Seto opened the door. "What's so important that you had to call me at six in the morning to come and see?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Good morning to you to."

"Oh, come on…" She moaned. "Before I explode in anticipation."

He gave that characteristic smirk that she'd come to both love and hate. "I can give you three reasons why I shouldn't. A. You were rude on the phone, B. You obviously think it's too early, and C… Well, I just enjoy watching you squirm."

"D. It's not so polite calling at that time in the morning either, E. It _is _too early, but I'm here now, and F. If you don't let me in, you'll be doing a lot more then squirming." She grumbled, trying to make it sound threatening.

"Hmm," Seto replied mockingly. "You make a compelling argument… But, I'm afraid it's not good enough."

He really should have been prepared for Azreal's next reason.

She stretched up, and kissed him, right there on the doorstep, knowing, even at this inane time of the day where no-one was about, he'd be embarrassed. Still, he didn't pull away.

"That would be reason G." She muttered, sliding round him. Laughing, Seto shut the door behind them.

"I like that reason." He commented. "Okay, let's go down into the basement, then."

Azreal blinked. "The basement?"

He rolled his eyes. "You can call it the cellar if you feel so inclined. However, as you will shortly be finding out, we are going to neither."

"You're making no sense…" Azreal grumbled.

"Then you'd better come with me, hadn't you, Az?" He teased, offering an arm as if they were going to a ball rather then a dusty hole full of rubbish.

Of course, the Kaibas did not have an ordinary basement. Exchange 'dusty' for 'shiny', 'hole' for 'Half of a football (Soccer?) pitch' and 'rubbish' for 'weird and wonderful machines and components', and you'd be getting close to what Azreal saw.

Close.

"This is one cool basement…" Azreal informed him as she scanned the room from the wall of computers at the back, the shelves and workbenches littered around, with everything from screwdrivers to microwaves to things she couldn't even name, finally stopping on the large tarpaulin in the middle.

"It gets cooler." Seto laughed, sounding uncharacteristically excited as he dragged her down the small flight of steps. He sounded almost like Mokuba. "Here, can you free the straps over there?"

"Eh?" Azreal asked, a second before spotting that the tarpaulin had elastic cords through it that were being held by hooks hammered into the floor. "Oh, never mind, I've got it…" She freed each length of elastic one by one. The cover juddered, but didn't fall off.

"What now?" She called down to Seto, who was doing something at the computers at the end of the room.

"Hold on, let me load it…" He replied, enjoying confusing her. "Okay…" He hurried back up the room, and took hold of the edge of the tarp. "Are you ready?" He teased, deliberately drawing it out.

"_Are you ready, are you ready for this, are you hanging on the edge of your seat, another one bites the dust?_" Azreal sung, rolling her eyes. "Yes, I am! Get on with it already…"

"You know, patience is a virtue…" Seto said lightly, hauling the enormous tarpaulin off regardless. It slid away to reveal his pride and joy- or rather, a cluster of them.

"VR pods…?" Azreal found herself blinking again. Then she grinned at Seto. "Just what do you have planned?"

Seto began climbing into one, gesturing for her to do the same. "Let's just say that I've had more spare time since quitting Wheeler's site."

"That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence…" Azreal replied as the lid slid shut above her. It was certainly an odd experience.

_I hope Seto knows what he's doing… _She thought vaguely. _Considering what, according to the others, happened every other time they went to the Virtual World…_

And then, it didn't seem to matter so much any more.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She might have knownit was all virtual, but she didn't care. She was standing on a small grassy incline, looking down on a clearing. At least, the trees that formed an impenetrable wall around it would suggest it was a forest clearing. In the middle was a large, glimmering lake, and the 'sky' above, though dark, was littered with stars. You wouldn't get somewhere so perfect in reality.

Seto smiled as he heard her gasp in delight. She liked it, then.

"It's so… It's so beautiful!" She yelled, "And now, I really, really have to roll down this hill." She walked to the edge of it, but then paused. "Don't think I'm going to do it all alone…"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "No."

"Yes!" Azreal insisted. "Come on! I'm not doing it all on my one…"

"You will, or you won't do it at all…" Seto told her, backing away from the advancing girl. He hit the solid wall of trees that marked the edge of the terrain. She grabbed him, and pulled him towards the edge. Eventually he stopped resisting, threw himself down, and rolled like the best of them.

Giggling, she sat up, pulling the very realistic grass out of her hair. "See?" She said triumphantly. "I knew you had it in you."

Seto continued to lie in the grass, laughing quietly.

"Tell you what, though…" Azreal continued. "This place isn't half realistic. I've even got grass stains on my cloak-" She realised what she said. "Wai! I'm wearing a cloak!"

"And very nice it is to." Seto rolled his eyes, surprised she hadn't noticed before. But then, it was Az, so maybe it wasn't so surprising after all. Meanwhile, Azreal was still getting excited over her fantasy-style garb.

It wasn't dissimilar, she decided, to Frodo's outfit in _The Lord of the Rings, _although it was a little more colourful as the cloak was a bright red, the top too-white-to-be-called-white, and the trousers a kind of fawn brown. Satisfied that she could now describe the outfit, she hugged Seto happily- he, she noticed, had no sort of costume.

Azreal didn't have one of those cool Elven broaches either, she noted.

"You know," Seto said almost conversationally. "If you'd get off me, I could finally stand up."

"I know." Azreal giggled, but not relenting as they laid in the grass, her head on his chest. It was some time before she spoke again, picking up from where she'd left off. "But I don't want to move. I just want to stay here and never move and never think again, but I know we can't…" She felt him laughing slightly, the vibrations in his chest. "But I guess we've had this time, and this moment, and I guess I'll always remember it…Right?"

"Me to." He said softly, but he sat up anyway, gently kissing her before pushing her off. "But there's more to see, you know." He stood up, offering her his hand. "Come on. Let's go for a walk, shall we?"

"Okay." She agreed, accepting his offer, and his hand. As they began to walk round the edge of the lake, water rippling in the simulated breeze, she noticed something.

"You've got background music." She laughed softly, cocking her head to listen. "Heh. _Suteki Da Ne, _isn't it?" She looked around the scene again. A lake, in a clearing in the middle of the woods, at night. Then she began to laugh. "Hmm, have you been playing _Final Fantasy X, _by any chance…?"

"You know I think they're a waste of time…" Seto replied.

"That wasn't what I asked." Azreal replied, poking him with the hand that wasn't in his. "I wanted to know- Hey, it's stopped…"

It was true. The beautiful backing music _had_ stopped. And in it's place…

Battle music.

"You haven't…?" She whispered to Seto. He merely let go of her hand, and moved over a little.

He had.

Azreal looked at the monster that had appeared before them.

"So, we fight this thing?" She grinned at Seto.

"Of course." He replied, holding an arm out to the side easily. When it returned, he was holding a large sword as though he'd been holding it all his life. "Try it."

"Uh, okay…" Azreal shrugged, holding a hand out to the side. Her fingers closed around something long, made of varnished wood. She swung it round, grabbing it with her other hand. "A swallow…" She said, looking at the long staff with a small blade on either end. "…Woah! I just love this place more and more!" She laughed happily.

"Try attacking." Seto told her. "This is the equivalent of a tutorial battle, so it won't do anything too serious."

"Okay." Azreal said, sounding a little apprehensive. "And here's hoping Square doesn't care as much about it's copyrights as it used to!"

She ran up to the monster, delighted to find that she instinctively knew how to use this weapon of hers as she twirled the blades expertly into the creature.

To her relief, there was no blood or gore. The monster just flinched, a small number 97 floating out of it.

"Damage." Azreal noted, leaping back. "Cool!"

It wasn't so cool when the dog-like creature jumped forward, swiping Seto with his claws. A number 20 came out of Seto as the CEO in question straightened up.

"It's alright, it doesn't hurt." He assured her. "The flinch is just an instant reaction."

"What happens if you reach zero hp?" Azreal asked, as Seto readied his sword.

"You're out of the game." He said, calmly walking over to the creature and slicing it. He watched in satisfaction as a number 212 floated from it. "Unless someone uses a Phoenix Down, of course. Now," He stepped aside. "Would you mind finishing this thing off?"

"How come you do more damage then me?" Azreal asked as a 103 came from it.

"Same as always." Seto grinned as the monster disappeared behind him. "I've had more experience."

"This is by far the oddest- coolest, mind you- experience I've ever had." Azreal laughed as her swallow dematerialised.

They continued to walk slowly around the edge of the lake, wandering into random battles now and again, talking, laughing, and generally having a great time.

"So," Azreal said eventually. "You made all this for me?"

"Mmm." Seto replied, almost embarrassed.

"You know, I think you should sell it."

He looked down at her in surprise. "What?"

"To the company." She shrugged. "They'd pay you a bomb to make a VR game for them. Or for you to teach them how to make one. They'd be well ahead of anyone else. Or, better, they could keep releasing online games and whatever until the public wants something more, then bam! Out it comes."

"…" Seto hesitated, then shook his head. "No. Not now, at least. I did this for fun, and I did this for us. Not for the money."

She squeezed his hand. "A year ago, I wouldn't have thought it possible for you to say that."

"A year ago," Seto replied. "It wouldn't have been."

Suddenly, Suteki Da Ne was cut off by a wailing siren.

"What's that?" Azreal asked in confusion.

"That," Seto replied. "Is the carefully calculated get-out alarm, made to give us enough time to eat breakfast and get to school with five minutes to spare."

"Okay, how do we save?" Azreal asked.

"Well, you have to wade into the lake and defeat the boss, but we don't have…" Seto's words stilled as she looked at him. "Beat a boss in less then five minutes?" he asked indcredously.

She looked at him.

He shrugged and they went and waded into the lake.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"This isn't going to work." Seto decided, as they hacked away. They were doing little damage and their hp was declining fast.

"How do we beat it!" Azreal yelled, jumping out of the way of another plume of water from the sea serpent. "Thunder attacks?"

Seto nodded. "I was kinda expected you to be a spell caster but… there has to be another way!"

"You programmed it, you should know!" Azreal screamed back. "How much time do we have left?"

"Three minutes!"

"Blast it…" She muttered. "We can't be late to school, but… Man, I did _not _come here to lose!"

"Words, Az!" Seto shot back, rolling awkwardly under a plume of water fired at him, knee deep in the water, before stabbing ineffectively at the creature's gut. "We need to _do _something if you want to beat this thing!"

"I know!" She screamed in frustration, laughing at the sheer insanity of it all. "Well, what are it's weak points?"

"I didn't programme any!" Seto yelled back, laughing to.

They should have been paying attention.

As they stood there, soaked, and giggling hysterically, a large jet of water headed straight for Az. No way to avoid it. Looked like she was about to be KO'd.

She held an arm up in vain to shield herself, but there was no longer any need to. Kerzaap, declared the bolt of thunder as it intercepted the stream of water and pushing all it's force back into the leviathan.

"You two need to hurry up!" Mokuba declared, skidding in between them, shaking his hands as they continued to tingle from the magic. "There's only two minutes left!"

"Hey, good to see you, kid." Azreal declared. "But it's weak now. It's time to finish this!" She swirled the staff above her head, levelled it, and shot it forward, slowing down just enough to-

Poke it gently.

The sea serpent roared and then exploded, showering them in water.

"Let's go!" Azreal yelled, buoyed up on the sheer elatedness of it all, as she ran towards the still-fading-in Savepoint. They pressed a hand against it, a flash of white light and-

They woke up in the pods.

After breakfast, they arrived at school precisely a minute before the bell.

Amazing.

They would play again after school.

"You look happy today." Téa commented. "You seemed a little stressed before."

"I… just found some monsters to take it out on." Anna replied, mysteriously.

"… I'll just guess Seto is involved and not ask…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal felt fine all day. It was only when they were headed home that she began to feel a little… odd.

They had had Maths last period, and now they were moving with the mass of students towards the stairs to the ground floor, talking and laughing happily. As they reached the steps, Az felt herself going a little woozy… Yugi was saying something and they were laughing, but… she took hold of the handrail for support, almost tripping down the stairs.

Tristan gave her an odd look, was saying something to her… they were all talking, and shouting…

_Oh, look, the ceiling._

Lots of noise, and people talking at her all at once so she couldn't possibly make sense of it all, telling her it was going to be alright, and someone holding her hand, soft skin at first then turning to something hard and firm, and still, the talking and an alarm that wouldn't stop…

"…Pointless!" Joey was saying venomously. "What good is it going to do anyone standing here moping?"

What the…?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_May_

Azreal looked around her in confusion. She was in a bed in what was probably a large room but was rather crowded. All her friends were crammed in there, leaning on walls or sitting on one of the chairs. They all looked pale, or withdrawn, or worried. As far as she could tell, anyway. She didn't have her glasses on, and so they were all pretty little blurs of different sizes and proportions.

"Don't say that!" Téa hissed, eyes red. "Don't say that! We're here for her! And stop yelling to!"

"Why?" Joey demanded. "What the hell do you think it's going to do! Wake her up!"

"Guys…" Yugi began uncertainly, but it was too late. Téa had already slapped Joey.

He stared down at her for a second, livid, then deflated.

"Guys?" Ryou tried.

"Dammit…" Joey muttered, turning away. "You're right. Sorry, Téa."

"Guys!" Ryou tried again.

"I shouldn't have hit you…" Téa whispered, sounding like she was going to cry. "Sorry, Joe. It's just… everything…"

Inside, Téa knew that her friends would find it weird that she was losing it so much over this. She'd always held it together when it was Mai or Ryou, but then there had been hope, hope that Yugi and Yami could bring them back, but Azreal… Azreal was going to die.

"Great…" The girl in question muttered from the bed in the corner. "Now that we're all friends again, would someone mind explaining what the _heck _is going on here!"

They turned to her in surprise. Except Ryou, who had noticed her looking round.

"You fell down the stairs." He said, sounding stupidly cheerful. How he, of all people, remained irrepressibly optimistic was a mystery to Azreal. "Knocked yourself out and didn't wake up for these five days. Doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong. They reckon you knocked a few wires loose when you hit your noggin. How do you feel?"

Momentarily overwhelmed by all this information, and the use of the word 'noggin', it was a second before she replied. Indeed, it was a moment before she realised there had been a question in there. "Vaguely embarrassed." She said.

So, she had fallen down the stairs and ended up spending five days in the hospital. How stupid.

"You had use kinda worried there." Yugi admitted, smiling in relief. "Especially as they couldn't contact your parents…?"

"Oh… they're at Ruby's mom's…" Azreal replied, focusing on something she _could _comprehend at the moment. It felt vaguely like her brain had been put through a liquidiser and served on toast. "She doesn't approve of mobile phones…"

"Do you know her home number?"

"…It's on the fridge."

"…Fair enough." With that, Yugi scurried off to find a doctor. Azreal felt around to find her glasses, feeling much better when she could see again.

"You had us all scared." Téa remarked into the silence. "Kaiba hasn't been into work these last five days, you know. He's barely left you, except times like now when he had to get Mokuba. He didn't say much, he just sat there and… and held your hand… like he did all the way here… he saw you going into the ambulance, and he just looked like…" She dissolved into a fresh stream of tears. It didn't look like it was her first lot that day.

"Hey, hey…" Azreal tried. "I'm alright, I'm alright…"

Téa said nothing, but they were both thinking the same thing:

_Yes, but for how much longer?_

Just then, a whole troop of doctors walked in, and her friends were chucked out.

But not before promising to get in touch with both her dad and Ruby and Seto.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Perhaps an hour later, Seto appeared in the doorway. Visiting hours apparently held no bearings to him. Maybe he had just gave a generous donation. It wouldn't surprise her.

"Hi." She offered weakly.

"Hi." He replied, walking in and sitting down on one of the chairs by her bed.

He half-laughed, half-sighed. "Goodness Az, you had me scared."

She looked at him, and she could see it there, could hear it in his voice. He was so pale…he could convincingly have been the one in hospital.

"I know." She sighed. "I know, I know…"

"Azreal." He said quietly. "Was it the game? If it was, you have to tell me, because if it was I-"

"Ssh." She whispered. "It wasn't the game, Seto. Heck, I wish it had been…I wish it had been the game… I wish…" Suddenly, she was crying to, and this time, it was Seto ssh-ing her. "You have to sell it Seto… It would give so many people fun… you have to… you have to… promise me…!"

He wasn't good at all this comforting stuff. But still, he wrapped his arms round her as she sobbed, comforting and being comforted, and wishing he could stop her ever crying again. "I promise." He reassured her. "I promise."

As he held her, Azreal couldn't help but cry harder.

She wanted this moment to last forever. And she was beginning to realise she didn't have anywhere near that long.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Amazing. You know, that was originally going to be one of the fillers- or the idea of a virtual FF. world was anyways. Meh. Here's the lyrics for you all, first in their original Japanese and then in English.

_Suteki Da Ne_

_kaze ga yoseta kotoba ni oyoida kokoro kumo ga hakobu ashita ni hazunda koe_ _tsuki ga yureru kagami ni furueta kokoro hoshi ga nagare koboreta yawarakai namida_ _suteki da ne futari te wo tori aruketa nara ikitai yo KIMI no machi ie ude no naka_ _sono mune karada azuke yoi ni magire yumemiru_ _kaze wa tomari kotoba wa yasashii maboroshi kumo wa yabure ashita wa tooku no koe_ _tsuki ga nijimu kagami wo nagareta kokoro hoshi ga yurete koboreta kakusenai namida_ _suteki da ne futari te wo tori aruketa nara ikitai yo KIMI no machi ie ude no naka_ _sono kao sotto furete asa ni tokeru yumemiru_ **Isn't it beautiful** **The wind, like a heart that swam in the accumulated words The clouds, a voice that was shot into the holding future** **The moon, a shaking heart in an unsteady mirror The stars, gentle tears in an overflowing stream** **Isn't it beautiful, to walk together in each others hands I do so want to go, To your city, your house, into your arms** **That heart, held within your body In those confusing nights I dream** **The wind, its halting words are a gentle illusion The clouds, the broken future like a distant voice** **The moon, a heart flowing in the clouded mirror The stars, broken and swaying, like tears unable to be hidden.** **Isn't it beautiful, to walk together in each others hands I do so want to go, To your city, your house, into your arms.** **That face, A soft touch, Dissolving into morning, I dream.**

Odd words, aren't they? And, for reasons I am unable to explain, ffdotnet has decided to fuse them all into one huge block... and I can't sort it out. Hope the bold and italics help a little...Really pretty song though...Okay, so, it's goodbye from me! I shall try to have a chapter for you next weekend, but there's no promises, because I'm on the DoE camp… _(Sigh) _Where did the six weeks go…? Meh. Buh-bye now.


	19. Thunderbirds are Go!

A/N: Arrk! So sorry! I couldn't help missing an update! I went camping! And then my dad is still doing this room up so I can't get in as much as I'd like and then when I could I had a ton of homework and… Yeah, I'll get on with it…

Review Response:

**Dragonlady222: **Aww, don't be sad... I updated! Does that make you happy?

Disclaimer: Phfft. Same old, same old.

**NOTE: **There's a lot to explain this chapter… Oiy. In order then, here goes…

_Top Trumps- _If there's a person out there EXCEPT me who doesn't know how to play, my friend tells me that you split the deck of cards in half, and then each player draws a card. Whoever won the last time chooses a stat- there are 5, scored out of 100- on each card, and the highest score wins the other card. The winner of the game is the one who gets all the cards.

_Port-a-Kitchen- _Y'know. Those little caravan type things that food vendors have with the kitchens in them… that's what they have.

_Cornish Pasties- _Different fillings wrapped in pastry. I won't bore you with the entire history. _(Shifty eyes)_

_The Ashes- _A cricket series made of Five tests (matches). I may have mentioned it before… just once. Us Vs. Australia. Well, we WON! WHEEEE! And this is my little tribute to the rebirth, after 16 years, of English cricket.

_Bento Boxes- _Yesh. Boxed Lunches. They come ready made, and are usually taken to school for lunches. Come in all shapes and sizes and varieties.

_Thunderbirds- _Can I make it very clear, right now, that I am **_NOT _**taking about the film. I mean the original, Gerry Anderson, British-made, starring-puppets, series. For those who aren't familiar with it, it was about a family who had these great machines, vehicles, whatever, called the Thunderbirds and they went and saved people. I've watched it since I was a kid, even though it's more of a boy's programme… Meh.

Annnnd now… Another chapter! And this one has Darth Vader, Buffy, Acting skills, stupidly large teddy bears, the beginning of Mokuba/Serenity, glomping and the reason why you should never get between Ryou and cricket!

Seventeen: Thunderbirds are Go!

_June_

"…Strategy."

"Weevil. Sixty-Two."

"Mai Valentine, Seventy-Six! Hand it over!"

Seto did so, sighing. "How did you get to be so good at this game, anyway?" He grumbled.

"Since I've been under house arrest for a month." Azreal replied happily, adding Weevil to her pile, already towering over Seto's.

Now, what could two (reasonably) healthy teenagers be doing inside on a lovely sunny day in June?

Playing the _Duellists_ version of _Top Trumps_, naturally.

"Az…" Seto said warningly. "You know it's for-"

"My own good, yeah." Azreal sighed, rolling her eyes. "And if anyone else tells me that, I'm going to scream!"

Having not been able to figure out why she had collapsed, the doctors had done the only thing they could think of- Prescribe one month of complete rest, and then come back for a check up. Unfortunately for Azreal, both Doug and Ruby had taken this very seriously indeed. She hadn't seen her friends for almost four weeks, although they had phoned or spoken online quite often. Seto she had spoken to everyday. But still, no-one had accepted she was absolutely fine- bar the severe boredom that came from not leaving the house or doing anything for weeks. She hadn't seen anyone either- Doug hadn't let anyone visit, and she got the feeling her friends wouldn't have anyway. They would have been scared of her 'over doing it', probably. In fact, she was certain the only reason Seto had been allowed to come today- and the only reason he had agreed- was because Ruby's mother was apparently 'ill', _again_, and had made Ruby feel so guilty about 'abandoning her' that they had had to go and visit today.

So there they were. She was sure Seto just hadn't wanted to leave her on her own, but he _had _been there all day. He must have given himself the day off from work. Now, _that _made you feel special. Even if he must have played truant from school to.

They were sprawled on the living room floor. Azreal lay on her stomach, legs kicking idly in the air as she considered her next card, trying to decide on which stat to choose. Oppisite, Seto sat propped up against the sofa, also looking at his card in a kind of detached interest. By far the oddest thing about this game was that they knew most of the people featured on the cards. Grinning, Azreal looked up.

"Now, ready to lose? Again?" She grinned.

Seto rolled his eyes. "There's no skill involved in this game. It's all luck."

"Then I guess my luck must be better then yours." Azreal replied, poking her tongue out at him as she gestured at her huge pile compared to his tiny one. "Anyways, Charisma."

Seto sighed, slightly in disbelief, and also with a slight smirk. "Sixteen." He said, already holding the card out to her.

"Ninety four." Azreal smiled, taking Joey's card version off Seto, and showing him her card- _Ryou Bakura. _"Check it out. Ryou's a pretty good card. I guess Joey is to, most of his stats beat Ryou's, but charisma wise…"

"Just get on with it." Seto told her tolerantly, drawing his next card from his much-depleted pile. "I haven't got many left…" he mourned.

"It'll be less soon." Azreal teased, drawing hers. _Espa Roba. _A fairly good card, but could it beat Seto's…?

She looked up, trying to tell whether his card was good or bad by the look on his face. Normally, it was a futile gesture- Seto kept his emotions guarded as always- but at this precise second, he looked thoroughly baffled, confused, lost… and more then a little disbelieving. But he looked so relaxed…

Impulsively, Azreal half-rolled across the room, and hugged him.

"That's cheating." Seto reprimanded lightly, trying to move his arm from the uncomfortable position it was pinned in. "You're not supposed to look at my card." He felt her shift as she shook slightly with laughter.

"Oh, Seth…" She sighed a mixed sigh of exasperation and amusement. "Forget about the game for a minute, would you? You're being glomped." None the less, she twisted slightly, so only her head rested on his chest. "Sorry. Couldn't help it… you just looked so lost and… bewildered… cute…Meh." She shifted her head slightly, so he could see his hand. "What card did you have, anyway?"

Seto raised it to show her the card version of himself.

**_Seto Kaiba_**

**Charisma: **_0_

**Loyalty: **_0_

**Unpredictability: **_04_

**Strategy: **_100_

**Power: **_99_

"Oh…" Azreal trailed off. "Well, that's full marks in Strategy, at least… Nearly in Power, to…"

"Still," Seto pointed out. "That's zero in everything else, nearly. Face it, in this game you need good all rounders. The fact is, my card sucks. I mean, come on, I'll admit to the first two, _maybe_, but am I _so _predictable that I only deserve a _four_! Even _Mai _had more then four, and she uses the same cards every single time…"

"Well…" Azreal began carefully. "You do kinda-mmumph!"

Seto had decided to pull her trick from Christmas. Not that she was complaining.

"What was that for?" She smiled as he pulled away ever so slightly.

"Just proving how unpredictable I can be." He smirked. She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Think I prefer the real thing." She commented, tugging the card gently out of his hand and tossing it into a random corner of the room. "…Seth?" he looked down at her. "What are you going to do? What do you have planned?"

He sighed in exasperation. "It's the summer festival tomorrow. All the local schools and businesses are doing entertainment or food or exhibits, including Kaiba Corp, who, according to the Union, are having a day trip out, which, incidentally, I'm paying for. As for school, if I don't attend, they'll keep me back a year. They know I'd _love _to be kicked out, so they threaten to keep me longer. Anyway, our class is supposed to be doing some completely improvised drama thing- no-one knows what it is yet. And while I'm doing this, my employees will be running around and I'd really rather not talk about it."

Azreal blinked. That had been rather a long speech. "Okay… I'm guessing you needed to rant about that. But actually, I meant more… long term."

Now it was Seto's turn to blink. "What…?"

"I mean," She shuffled slightly, turning her face to look at him. "Y'know. The future. You must have ambitions, dreams, right?"

Seto averted his gaze. "I think it's fairly obvious what 'I'm going to be when I grow up', Az. I think it's been fairly obvious since I was adopted."

"I know." She sighed. "I know, but… Sometimes, it just doesn't seem like you enjoy what you do much. So… you know you don't have to, right?"

Seto picked at some fluff on the carpet. "'What we call the future is the shadow which the past throws in front of us.'" He replied blandly, almost bitterly.

Azreal straightened up, pulling his hand from the carpet and cradling it in her own. Then she pulled his face up so he was looking right into her eyes.

"Who would say something like that?" She asked quietly, searching in his eyes. It couldn't have been something that Seto had made up, it couldn't be, it would be so sad…

"A man called Marcel Proust." Seto said mechanically, looking away again, unable to hold her gaze.

"Well…" She said softly. "Marcel Proust, with respect, was talking out of his rear end." She leant down, smiling as she forced herself back into his eye line. "The future can be whatever you want it to be, you just have to run and run till you leave the past- and it's shadow- _way _behind. So if you don't want KC, don't sit there and take it. You can be whatever you want to be- heck, _it _can be anything you want it to be. Do you get what I'm saying here?"

"…Yes." Seto said uncertainly. "I'll take that into account. But I don't see why you bring it up now…"

She looked at him sideways, sitting back on her heels. "I just… want you to be happy for the rest of your life."

Seto laughed. "I'll do my best. But, you know, the way you're talking… It's not like you won't ever see me again."

She looked a little saddened. Even as she smiled, he could see it in the corner of her eyes.

"Az, I'm not going anywhere." He reassured her.

"I know." She said, still with that same, odd smile.

Awkwardly, he stood. "Well… I should be going home, but you know what I mean."

"Of course." She sighed. "So, you be happy the rest of your life, 'kay?" She grinned. "And then I'll be to!"

"Deal." Seto said, shaking her hand jokingly. Then he picked up an imaginary drink, and raised it. "Well then…To Life, Love and Happiness." He mocked.

Her smile widened, but, he noticed, the sadness in her eyes grew. Why was she so sad? And why wasn't anything he did helping…?

"Yes." She agreed quietly, resting her chin in a hand. "Life, Love and happiness."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

After Seto had left, Azreal knew exactly what she wanted to do, and she did it. Almost an hour later, after a very long soak in the bath, she searched around in her room for the hairdryer. It was rather unpleasant to have water dripping down the back of your pyjamas. She moved around listlessly, water dripping to the floor.

_I am happy. _She decided, smiling a little. _So… why am I still crying?_

No answer came as tears continued to fall to the carpet.

She wiped her eyes determinedly, locating the elusive hairdryer. She would phone her dad, she decided, and go to the summer festival tomorrow. And she wouldn't be sad. She would be smiling and having fun and laughing again.

It was about time she stopped crying.

She switched the hairdryer on and took the wet away.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"…I don't know, Ann…" Doug said doubtfully.

"Dad…" She pleaded. "Come on! The doctors said a month and it's been a month and you know I'm fine and it's been so boring…"

"No, the doctors said one month and then back for a check-up." He replied stubbornly.

"Dad!" She said in exasperation. "I'm fine! You know I am! Please…?"

He sighed. "Let me see what Ruby thinks."

"Okay." She replied.

Doug placed the phone face down on the desk carefully and turned to his wife.

"She wants to go to the Summer Festival tomorrow."

Ruby shrugged. "Than let her go."

"But…" Doug began. She placed a hand over his.

"Doug. Don't worry so much. She's going to need a good day before tomorrow night…" She shook her head. "Have you dropped that little bombshell yet? You can bet she won't be happy…"

"No." Doug shook his head. "I haven't been able to get a word in."

Ruby half-laughed. "You'd better hurry up, then, before the phone bill gets run up to much, or worse, my mother finds you using a mobile."

Doug sighed. "Fine." He picked up the phone. "Ann? You can go- No, no, calm down, wait a minute- you take care of yourself, you hear? Well, I hope you do! But, Ann, listen… I have some bad news…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Of course, as Seto had neglected to tell her any details, the next morning, Azreal walked out of her front door, back in her school uniform, with no real idea where she was supposed to go and at what time. But, given the throng of people moving towards the town centre, it wasn't hard to figure out.

Azreal strolled along in the crowds wake, in no rush as people ran past, overtaking her and in an excited hurry. It was nice to just feel the air _moving _again in the light breeze. It had been a while.

As she passed the park within the mass of moving people, she noticed a group standing around outside the gates. In other words, Téa, Yugi, Duke and Tristan. Grinning, she decided to go and reintroduce herself, and sauntered over as well as she could.

"Morning." She said cheerfully.

They looked at her in shock. And then the smiles broke out.

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The Domino Summer Festival was a bit of a silly name, really. In fact, it was only held in Domino once every five years. Sure, it had _begun _there, but it was on a cycle.

It had begun with Domino High, it was sure. They networked with other schools in the other suburbs of Tokyo, three of them. Then, they linked to other school networks- abroad. The upshot of it all was, the host countries constantly tried to outdo the other countries with holding some awesome festival. Then local businesses had got in on it, until they involved entire communities. It was supposed to give the schools chances to experience other cultures and give a bit of healthy competition. Of course, you had to be a model student or close to if you were going to be flown out abroad, to one of the other cities as an 'Ambassador for the school." Last year, the festival had apparently been held in Longbridge, a Suburb of Birmingham in England. The year before that a part of Alberta, Canada. And before that, Boncossa in Italy and Brooklyn in the US. It was very much an international thing.

"Okay, now I get why there's people in weird school uniforms and speaking different languages running around." Azreal said as they stood there, apparently waiting for Joey to show. "But, I assume, as we are the host this year, we're supposed to be _doing _something."

"Yeah." Téa said. "The schools are handling the food side of things…" She looked around them, then sighed. "C'mon. It doesn't look like Joey's going to turn up any time soon and we're supposed to be helping Ryou out this morning… apparently, he got talked into running a food stall…"

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"How are we going to find him in this place?" Azreal wailed after they had confirmed their attendance, and that they would be participating in the improvised drama later on. She stared around at the teeming mass of people. This was a major event.

"Well," Yugi said. "This entire park's been given over to the food places, so if we wander around for long enough…"

As it turned out, they didn't have to wander around for long at all. Just a few moments into the crowd, they spotted Ryou amongst the group of people around his stand. He looked completely at home, hair hygienically tied back, in a green apron. He waved a spatula at them happily as they weaved between the tables that had been laid out on the grass and came over to the small Port-a-kitchen that the school had hired for all the catering.

As Téa had said earlier, the schools were taking care of the food. The older students were cooking, in all the port-a-kitchens arranged around a central seating area, full of people. The younger students were doing the serving and waiting- in costume. They were all cosplaying as Anime or game characters.

Watching as a particularly accurate Sailor Moon ran past with a tray of drinks, Azreal was not paying full attention to where she was going. She brushed against a small blond boy dressed up as Link from the _Legend of Zelda _games. Luckily, his hands had been empty. Murmuring an apology, she continued past, until Link called out to her.

"Anna!" He yelled. "Hey, what are you doing here!"

She turned, and blinked as she recognised that, below the green hat and blond hair, it was Mokuba. "Mokuba!" She yelped in alarm. "…Since when have you been _blond?_!"

Laughing, he removed the hat, and his hair tumbled out. Azreal breathed a sigh of relief as, not only was it still it's usual length just crammed up inside the hat, he'd only dyed a small part- just the parts that would be seen when he was wearing the hat- blond. The rest was as dark as ever.

"Hey, Mokuba!" A mini-Zidane yelled dashing past with a plate of ramen. "There's an order ready over there, at the Donburi stand! You mind taking it?"

"Okie Dokie." Mokuba shrugged, forcing his hair back inside the small green hat. "I have to go…" he mourned. "But… meet us under the oak tree behind the school for lunch, yeah? And bring the others!"

He ran off, and, as she made her way over to Ryou's stand, she couldn't help but wonder who the 'we' was…

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Ryou's Cornish pasty stand seemed to be quite an attraction, with one or two standing around it, trying to pick a variety. Or, in fact, four girls, one slightly younger then the other three. She, and two of the older ones, were in what was presumably their school uniform, ties and trousers, with a jumper around her waist. The other two held blazers, also black, over their arms. The third girl was watching them as they debated, not in a uniform, and looking slightly bewildered.

"So…" Azreal said to Ryou, after she had donned an apron and caught up a little with him. Yugi, Téa, Tristan and Duke were already busy in the kitchen behind the counter, where a digital radio was chattering on, tuned to some English sport event. "What do you want me to do here?"

"Well… uh… you could take the orders." Ryou smiled. "And then we'll make them, and then one of the cosplayers will take it to the table."

"Fair enough." Azreal shrugged. "So, what do we have to offer?"

"Um…" Ryou turned around to where some recipes were pinned up on the wall for reference. He gestured at each one with the spatula as he spoke. "Traditional, which is beef and swede and onion and potato; Chicken Tikka Masala, which is fairly self explanatory; Vegetable, which has onion and swede and potato and carrot and parsnip and leek; Steak, which, again, is obvious; and then there's cheese and bacon."

_"Did you just say cheese and bacon!" _One of the girls screamed in English. "_Man, you wouldn't _believe _how hard it is to find a cheese and bacon nowadays!" _Then she stuttered, and began to repeat herself in rusty Japanese. "Oh, that is… um… could we please have-"

_"It's alright." _Azreal laughed. _"I understand you. So, three cheese and bacon then?"_

_"Yup!" _She grinned happily.

_"Actually," _The girl her age said,_ "I think I'll just stick to a Traditional, thanks."_

_"Oh, sorry!" _The first girl said, half turning to the fourth girl who hadn't been previously been involved in the conversation, the one not in their school uniform. "_Not to leave you out! And another cheese and bacon for the Canadian girl!" _She declared.

The girl in question looked up sharply. _"No, no, it's alright!"_

_"I insist!" _The British one insisted. _"You'll never have had one before, right?"_

The Canadian girl looked at Ryou's carefully made 'display pasties', poking one suspiciously. _"You eat these? I mean, I didn't come to Japan to eat crazy British food, no offence…"_

_"Yes you eat them! What do you suggest you do with them!"_

_"Hey, I've never seen one before…"_

_"Yes, but still! The Cornish Pasty was developed for a reason, you know! You see, back in Cornwall's mining days…"_

She seemed intent on informing the hapless Canadian of the entire history of the Cornish pasty. Bewildered, Azreal turned to the third older girl. _"So…" _She said. "_Three Cheese and Bacon and one Traditional?"_

"Ssh!" Ryou yelled suddenly from somewhere behind her, turning up the radio. "Ssh a minute!"

Azreal turned around, baffled, as behind her, the British girl continued to prattle on about tin mines.

_"…All over, with a spectacular victory, England get off to a good start at the Ashes with one victory already… Now, as they leave, in triumph, we have to wonder if they can keep it up at Edgbaston…" _A posh voice was saying on the radio.

_"Yes!" _Ryou yelled, grinning happily. He threw up his arms in triumph, and Yugi ducked as his rolling pin flew across the small room, watching Ryou with rather scared eyes. _"Yes! We won! WE WON! HA! And it won't be the last time neither! AND I DON'T GIVE A TOSS ABOUT GRAMMER! WE WON THE RIGHT TO ABUSE IT! BECAUSE WE WON! YES!"_

Azreal blinked. "What?"

The British girl had ceased in her rant about the tin mines, looking up sharply. The Canadian girl took advantage of the distraction to sneak away.

_"Did you just say we won!" _She demanded.

_"I did indeed!" _Ryou confirmed happily. "_We did it! We won the first test!"_

_"Yes!" _She punched the air as the other two cheered behind her. _"Oh, that's great! One down, four to go! This year, we'll reclaim the Ashes, I know it! Now… onto Edgbastooooooooooooooon!"_

_"YEAH!" _Ryou and the younger girl agreed enthusiastically. The remaining girl smacked them round the heads in annoyance, mumbling that it was only a game and did they have to be so embarrassing?

"…What?" Azreal repeated.

"Cricket." Ryou shrugged, retrieving his rolling pin and going back to his pastry.

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Azreal took so many orders that morning that she didn't know what to do with them all. Well, she did- she gave them to Ryou and the others in the kitchen. And as soon as they were done, she'd yell at a Cosplayer to come and take them to a table. She was almost glad her throat was going hoarse because it showed how popular they'd been. Not that the other stalls weren't doing just as well, but it still made her feel proud of Ryou and the others. Even if Joey still hadn't turned up.

"Hey!" She yelled out. "Do we have someone who can take these to table six? How about you, Goku?" The kid began to walk over to her, but before he got there he was snagged by a stall with cakes, from a rival school. Azreal frowned at them, and they smirked. They'd been in competition all day, for the most customers and the best waiters and waitresses. Azreal scanned the crowd, eventually picking out a brunette girl that was probably just a year or two older then Mokuba, in an easily recognisable outfit. "Alright! Aeris! Get over here and do me a favour, would ya?"

She nodded, smiling, and headed over. When the cake stall gestured at her, she shook her head, pointing to Ryou's stall. Azreal smiled. Ah, surely, this had to be another Domino-ian, probably from Mokuba's school.

Even when the girl came up, Azreal knew she looked familiar, but couldn't place her face.

"Hey." Azreal said, passing the plate of pasties down to her. She was just about as tall as Azreal, though surely younger. How unfair. " Can I just say, I LOVE that costume!"

She smiled. "Ah, a gamer. See, only a few people recognised it."

"Yeah, well." Azreal smiled. "Those who did _must _have seen it's worth! Annnnnyway… You mind taking these over to table six for me?"

She shrugged, accepting the plate. "That's what I'm here for. Mmm, these smell great… I shall have to come back and get one later!"

"Oh, I think Ryou made those ones…" Azreal replied thoughtfully. "I'll tell him you liked the smell of them!"

"Ryou?" She blinked. "I didn't know he was doing a stand."

Azreal joined in the blinking. "You know him?"

Just then, the guy in question appeared to find out what was going on and why he heard his name. He spotted Aeris and smiled.

"Hi, Serenity." He said. "I love the costume!"

"Thanks." She laughed. "I like it to!"

Azreal looked between them in confusion as the others appeared and started talking to the girl quite happily.

"Uh…" She said sheepishly, pressing her fingers together. "Who?"

"Oh!" Téa cried. "I forgot you two hadn't met! Anna, this is Joey's sister!"

"Ooh…" Anna said in realisation. "And Duke and Tristan…?"

"Don't realise how pointless it is, no." Téa sighed in exasperation as Serenity continued to talk to them. "I have a feeling Serenity likes someone else…" She began giggling. Anna looked at her in confusion, then shrugged before turning to Serenity.

"So… you're Serenity." She smiled. "Are you in town for the festival?"

"That's right." She nodded. Then she yelped. "Oh! I'd better take these before they go cold!" She waved with her free hand and began to move off.

"Hey!" Yugi called after her. "Have you seen Joey?"

"Isn't he here yet?" Serenity frowned, stopping and turning around. She exchanged uncomfortable looks with the others. "Well… he _did _say something about a costume… I wonder if that's it."

"Knowing Joey, it probably is." Téa said, laughing and waving her off. As soon as she was out of sight though, she began to bite her lip.

"Do you think…?" Yugi began.

"It's possible." Tristan said, looking at Duke. "Look, we'll go round and see if he's okay. You guys just stay here and… do your thing. We'll be back in a minute." They threw off their aprons and began to walk off.

The remaining four continued silently with their work. Azreal knew why Tristan and Duke had volunteered to go. Without being sexist, she and Téa weren't all that great if it came to a fight, and Yugi was too small- unless Yami came out and smooshed everyone. And Ryou needed to stay here to run the stall. They dreaded what would happen when Tristan, Duke, and possibly Joey came back- _if _they came back.

As it was, they needn't have worried.

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A few minutes after the two guys had left, they were approached by their weirdest customer yet. Azreal couldn't help backing away a little as none other then Darth Vader came and stood before her.

"Um… Hi." Azreal offered. She knew that if you came in costume, you could get food and attractions for free, but so far she hadn't met anyone who had done it. So it was rather odd to see him (Or her, who could tell) standing before her. "What can I do for you?"

Vader stood before her, breathing heavily.

"Uh…" Azreal wasn't sure what to say. So she waited as Vader continued to breathe heavily. For an excessive amount of time. "Um… Are you having an Asthma attack? Oh, wait, hold on, I'll help!"

"No…" He panted, reaching up and pulling the helmet off. Azreal blinked as Joey emerged, flopping down on the counter. "It's hot in there…" He whined. Azreal stared at him. Then she thought of something.

_Oh man!_

"Duke and Tristan!" She yelled.

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As it had a habit of doing, everything turned out okay in the end. They managed to phone Duke and Tristan moments before they reached Joey's house, and they returned rather sheepishly to the festival. At one o'clock, all the caters and cosplayers were relieved by the afternoon shift, and they promptly headed out of the park, through a few blocks, admiring displays and noting places they wanted to revisit later, until they reached Mokuba's proposed location, under the old oak tree.

He was already there, looking odd in his bright green outfit with half blond and half black hair, deep in conversation with Serenity, who it looked would be joining them for lunch. They descended upon them, pulling out Bento Boxes or food they'd brought on the way, settling down for a good lunch.

"Let's eat!" They chorused, chattering and munching happily in the shade of the tree.

"Hey…" Azreal said, a moment or two later, as she swallowed the last of a sandwich of the jam variety. "Mokuba, don't you have anything?"

"Well…" He looked around. "Seto's supposed to be bringing it when he comes this afternoon, but… Oh! Wait, there he is…Seto!" He waved to attract his older brother. Seto's face remained smoothly expressionless as he looked at his brother's companions with a barley masked distaste.

Then he spotted Azreal, and… smiled.

"Good afternoon, everyone…" He said mildly, passing a Bento Box over to Mokuba, scanning over his semi-blond hair and deciding not to ask. Then he turned to Azreal as he slowly sat down on the grass with the rest of them, looking uncertain.

"Hi." She grinned.

"Hi." He replied, looking surprised. The others relaxed, knowing that Seto wasn't going to _deliberately_ cause trouble just yet- although he looked like he'd prefer not to have their company. "I wasn't expecting you to be here, Az."

"How could I miss it after you seemed so… enthusiastic?" She giggled, resisting the impulse to kiss him. It was a good job that she had seen him yesterday. She got the feeling that if she hadn't seen him at all within the last month, she wouldn't have been able to stop herself.

Seto laughed quietly, and whispered in her ear: "You know… I think I can put up with these guys for now if you're here to…"

"Just behave." She whispered back before deliberately pulling him into a conversation, hoping he wouldn't realise she was trying to distract him.

She hadn't failed to notice that Mokuba and Serenity were having a quiet conversation slightly turned away from the rest of the group. And, finally, she thought she knew what Téa had meant earlier.

"Mai!" Téa yelled suddenly, waving at the blond in question. "Come join us!"

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Although not in school, Mai had turned up to. And she was also in costume.

As Buffy- Yes, the Vampire Slayer.

"Hey, Mai…" Joey said, with an odd look on his face and a sneaky undertone to his voice. "Wanna take a look at my lightsaber?" He took the item in question out.

"Oh, yes!" She said, smiling brightly. "And then I can ram my stake through it!" She proffered the wooden item, and the two laughed loudly as the others looked on indcredously.

"He's so embarrassing…" Serenity muttered quietly. Mokuba was the only one to hear.

"Yeah, but he loves you." He whispered, shrugging. "Anyway, it can't be as bad as Seto… Joey may be overly friendly, but Seto's stupidly cold. And…" He lowered his voice even more. "He just won't accept that Yugi beats him fairly."

Serenity giggled uncertainly. "Hey…" She said. "Is that a _Thunderbirds _Bento Box?"

Mokuba looked down in embarrassment. Hey, it _was _very old… although, Mokuba didn't normally want to change it… He rather liked Thunderbirds… "Oh! It's… Um… James'! Yeah! I, uh, didn't have one, so Ann leant me one and it's James'! It's not mine! It's James'!"

"Pity…" Serenity said seriously, looking at him sideways with eyes that were laughing. "Because I was going to ask if you knew where I could get one."

Mokuba looked surprised, then grinned back. "Or, I could just be pulling your leg…"

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At two o'clock precisely, they were due in the school hall to arrange their completely improvised drama piece. At five to, with some trepidation, they waved Mokuba and Serenity goodbye- and they, with nothing else to do all day- seemed perfectly cheerful- and headed in. Others from their class were already milling around, whispering angrily. With even more caution, and more then a little suspicion, they headed up to the board to find out what they were going to be 'acting' as.

They regrouped a moment later, in surprise and disbelief.

"What'd you get?" Azreal asked Seto curiously.

"A tree." He said, not sounding impressed. "And you?"

"Second rock from the right!" She replied, doing the victory sign. She seemed to find the whole thing stupidly amusing.

Yugi had been cast as a bush.

Joey was a pinecone.

Téa was a leaf.

Tristan was a blade of grass.

Duke was the wind.

Ryou… was a squirrel.

"Right!" The drama teacher bellowed, appearing suddenly and clapping his hands together. "Does everyone know their parts! Good! Bravo! _Marrrvelous! _We are going to do a completely still picture, showing nature in all it's wonder- with no props _or _costumes! It's a hard job, but I'm sure you're all up to it, my darlings, if you just let your part into your _soul_! Everybody ready! Good! Bravo! _Marrrvelous! _The doors open in two minutes! Get to it!"

The cast looked at each other in complete disbelief. Surely, this _had _to be a joke…

Shrugging, Azreal slowly bent down, curling up on the floor.

"…You don't look much like a rock, Ann…" Yugi said.

"I am a rock!" She declared, giggling. "I am _so _a rock! I am _one _with the rock! The rock and I share a soul! I am a rock! Look at me in all my rocky rockiness…!"

She noticed the others were trying to smother their laughs and wondered why, and then she heard the drama teacher's voice.

"Good! Bravo! _Marrrvelous!" _He declared, sniffing. "Bravo, Miss Mitsan! Here," He shouted to the rest of the room. "Is one that truly _understands _the essence of this work! A very moving performance! Now, come on the rest of you, into position!" The others shuffled around. "Good!" He yelled. "Bravo! _Marrrvelous…"_

He wandered off.

His arms raised at his sides, trying his best to look like a tree, Seto wondered if he'd finally gone insane and this was all some demented nightmare. Just then, Téa ran over to him.

"Kaiba!" She yelled, clinging onto his arm and counter balancing off him. "You're a tree and I'm a leaf so wouldn't it be great if we teamed up and…" She trailed off.

Seto looked at her.

"Just a suggestion…" She defended, letting go. Then she lay down between where Ryou was bent down on his haunches in a crude impersonation of a squirrel, and where Joey was wondering if he looked like a pinecone, to be a fallen leaf instead.

"Ready!" The Drama teacher yelled, his hands on the door. "Good! Bravo! _Marrvelous!_" He pulled on the doors, and they slowly swung open…

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"…Can you even see where you're going…?" Serenity asked, giggling.

"Nope." Mokuba grunted from somewhere behind the _huge _teddy he'd inadvertedly won.

"Heh… Oh, wow!"

"What?" Mokuba asked, turning around to where her voice came from, but his view was still obscured by a large mass of brown fur.

"Wait here!" Serenity called, her voice already more distant.

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Mokuba had put the teddy bear down, but he still couldn't see where she had disappeared to. He hoped she'd come back. He had been working up to giving her the bear, but he didn't want to make it seem like he just didn't want to carry the thing…

"Mokuba!" She called happily from behind him a second later. "Look what I just won on the coconut shy!" She held up a large, stupidly cool, replica sword.

"Wow!" Mokuba replied. "Do you mind if I have a look?"

"Not at all." She laughed, handing it to him and watching as he examined it. He held it out to give it back, but she shook her head. "No, keep it." She smiled, pushing it back towards him. "After all, you're not much of a Link without the Master Sword, are you?"

"But…" Mokuba began, before seeing his opportunity. "I tell you what. If I'm having your sword, you can have my bear."

"Thank you…" Serenity laughed, picking up the bear and hugging it. Then she grinned at him. "You know, I think I'll call him Link!"

Mokuba was suddenly glad his hair was so long. He could hide a blush behind it.

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Three hours after the doors had opened, they were closed again.

"Well done everyone!" The teacher declared, clapping, almost in tears. "A very moving performance, all of you! I really felt _nature _in this room! Good! Bravo! _Marrrvelous_! You may now… _move_!"

Sighing in relief, Seto lowered his arms. They were really hurting badly. Around him, he heard the others moaning and groaning. They weren't going to live this down any time fast.

Ryou finally toppled over, unable to hold his balance any longer. Groaning, he clambered to his feet, giving Téa a hand up. Azreal still hadn't moved, still curled up. Seto went over to her.

"You can move now, Az." he told her. She didn't reply. Slightly concerned now, Seto bent down. "Az?" Frowning, he rolled her over. But she was alright.

She had just fallen asleep.

Quashing the smile that always spread over his face when she was sleeping, Seto formed a stony look and shook her gently with his stiff arms. "Az. Az! Wake up…"

She opened her eyes, sat up, and glanced around.

"Oh, is it over?" She asked, stretching her arms. Seto nodded. "What time is it?" She asked the room at large.

"Five past five." Yugi informed her. "They'll be starting the fireworks down at the Night Market soon!"

People cheered up at that. Not many new about those on bonfire night, and the fireworks over the water were really something special.

Seto took Azreal's hand and pulled her up as people began to head out.

"Shall we?" He asked, brightening at the thought of taking Az up onto the cliff again to watch some fireworks.

"Oh, Seto, I can't…" She sighed.

"Why not?" Joey asked, seemingly oblivious to Seto's dirty looks at his entering the conversation.

"Because I have to go to my Grandmother's!" Azreal wailed.

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A/N: There. I ish tired after all that… Join me next week, in witch we have a cunning plan, a daring escape, an invitation some more acting and another little bombshell!


	20. It's the Thought that Counts

A/N: W00t! Can't believe how many people liked my one shot! And I have another one, another pairing in the works… ke ke ke…Anyways, Good reason(s) for lack of chapter yesterday. Namely, shopping for birthday presents, and being unable to come in here all day because my dad was painting. Could give you a ton of reasons why I can't update today either- Stinking cold, Church, Youth Group, Visiting Grandparents (Thankfully nicer then Az's!) and my mom's birthday mixed up somewhere in it all. Ah well. I didn't. Here's the chapter!

Review Response:

**Dragonlady222: **Yup, you guessed right. Poor, poor Az. But c'mon... do you really think I'd leave her there...? Heh heh heh...

Disclaimer: I own some stuff. But nothing copyrighted. Drat.

And now, a very suicidal plan, and a bombshell…

Eighteen: It's the Thought that Counts

_June_

Azreal watched the car pull up on the other side of the road, as they waited outside the school gates. This had been the bad news her father had had the night previous for her- Ruby's mother was beginning to get suspicious as to why Azreal never went- and just because her suspicions were right didn't mean that they could let her know that. So that had been the deal. She could go to the summer fest for the day, and then that evening would head up to her grandmothers for the weekend. What a way to end a so far awesome day…

Sighing, she bade them goodbye, discreetly squeezing Seto's hand as she passed. She had had fun today. Let's hope that that was enough to get her through the next two days…

As she hopped in, she was surprised to find Ruby driving. She got the feeling her dad had stayed behind with his son and his mother-in-law so she could have a break. Azreal hadn't failed to notice the way Ruby was patronised. Not that the demon grandmother thought much of Doug, either. At least, not after she had discovered his 'illegitimate daughter'. After the initial conversation had all-but died out, Azreal noticed something else that initially struck her as strange.

"Isn't it the other way?" She asked, bewildered, as they turned into their street. "Why are we going home?"

"I just thought that you probably wouldn't want to spend the weekend in your uniform." Ruby replied, innocently. "You'll need your gear."

"What are you building up to?" Anna asked, suspiciously.

"Well…" She dithered. "You need to make a good first impression, and I think that maybe you should wear a dress."

And Azreal's view of the world did a u-turn.

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After Anna had been driven away, none of them could think about going to see the fireworks.

"Poor Ann…" Téa mourned. "That old woman hates her. What a way to spend your weekend…"

"And she'll miss the fireworks." Yugi added, as the first banged overhead.

"Unless…" Joey said slowly. "We could…"

"Go and rescue her?" Ryou asked, laughing.

"Yeah." Joey shrugged.

"Do you have a plan?" Duke asked curiously.

"No. Not yet. But I know a dude who will…"

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Anna tried to look at her watch without letting anyone see. She had barely been here an hour, and yet it was still excruciating… Not to mention that she had eventually been persuaded into a dress. And as the only one she owned had been the one for the valentine's dance, she had been forced to wear that. And then it apparently looked too much like a 'party frock'- which it was- and so she had to wear a cardigan to balance it. As she didn't own a cardi, it was one of Ruby's and therefore too long for her. It matched as far as colour was concerned, but any and all character of the dress had gone. All that trouble, to have it dismissed as 'I hope that wasn't expensive' within two seconds of the door. What a horrid old woman… The others would be watching the fireworks over the ocean right now… The display went on for hours, well into the night, and was meant to be something truly spectacular this year…

"Stop huffing and puffing girl!" Ruby's mother snapped. "Honestly, Doug, how was this girl dragged up?"

"I'm sorry." Anna tried, vainly. The old woman sniffed.

"If you want to be part of my family, little miss, you need to start acting like you've been raised properly." She looked at Anna intently. The girl in question tried not to squirm. "You're supposed to be a part of this family, but you won't even bother to come and see your dear old ill grandmother? What kind of family is that? Not that you're any grandchild of _mine, _thank goodness."

"Well…" Anna bit her tongue to stop herself being rude. "I personally believe that family… any kind of family… needs to _know _each other before there can be any love, or care. How can you care about someone you don't know? But… I would…like to know you." _Stay polite. Keep lying. _

"Hmmph." She snorted. "That's respect for you, isn't it? Not even your own flesh and blood-"

"Excuse me," Anna said stonily. "As you said yourself, I am _not _your flesh and blood. And if you think it's only physical relations that make a family, I don't know what you can do." She stood slowly. "I'm going to go to bed, if I may. Goodnight, dad, Ruby. Goodnight, _Grandmother._" She walked from the room, sending up a silent prayer for the strength to get through this ordeal.

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"So let me get this right." Seto sighed, looking at them. "You want to go and save Az." He repeated, as Yugi, Téa, Ryou, Joey, Mokuba, Duke, Serenity, Mai and Tristan watched. "You want to go and save her from the Evil Grandmother of doom, who, from the sound of things, wouldn't hesitate to beat us round the head with a walking stick, with her dad and step-mom there, when we have no idea where 'There' is; with no plan and no way of executing one."

"Don't give us that." Joey sighed. He was playing a dangerous game. "You wanted her here more then any of us. Even if you were too polite to do it, you would've had a plan to rescue her. And even if you _didn't _have one before, you will do now. Right, Kaiba?"

Seto gave an almost vampirism grin. "As it happens, I _do_ have an idea. It's so stupid, I despair to know I thought of it. But, given that I have your… expertise… it may just work." He turned to face them fully at last. "Tell me, Wheeler, just how much attention do you pay in Literature class…?"

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She stormed into the guest room that she and James were being forced into sharing, fighting very hard not to slam the door. For one thing, she wouldn't give the old bag the satisfaction of seeing her lose her temper. And for another, James was already sleeping, and she couldn't wake him.

Her first thought was to get out of this dress, the last of her goodwill gone. Unfortunately, blundering about in the dark, it was impossible to find her normal clothes in the small hold-all she had brought.

So her second thought was to get out of this house instead.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The plan itself was suicidal in its simplicity. After all, undercover officers and unmarked cars do not need to be costumed. And the reason Seto had asked if they paid attention was because the idea was openly stolen from a very dramatic scene in _A View from The Bridge, _namely the part with the Immigration Bureau.

And Seto even knew where Azreal's grandmother lived. But first things first. There wasn't enough room for everyone in the car he'd brought that day, especially as they had to leave room for Azreal, so he had somehow ended up with- and who knew how or why- Yugi, Ryou, and, worse luck, Wheeler. Who hadn't as of yet put on his seatbelt.

"Put it on." Seto said, tiredly. Joey seemed surprised.

"What?"

"Seatbelt." Seto grunted, determined to say as little as possible to Wheeler. _It's for Az. _He kept reminding himself. _You're doing this for Az. _"We don't go anywhere until you have it on, Wheeler. I don't want your death on my record."

Joey strapped himself in. He was slightly concerned by that statement. It almost sounded like not only did Kaiba _expect _an accident, but he had rather a reputation for them. "You make it sound like you're an irresponsible driver." He commented, nervously.

Seto said nothing, starting the engine.

"Ever get the feeling you're in over your head?" Yugi murmured to Ryou. The boy next to him grinned slightly manically.

"Oh, I don't know." He said. "I think this looks like it's all going to be rather fun. The best suicide mission _I've _been on, any road."

Yugi decided to keep his doubts to himself in future.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

There was an advantage to living in a bungalow.

All the windows were at ground level.

As Azreal carefully began to manovere herself out of the window, it was a pity her phone was turned off so as not to give her away. Had it been on, she would have found several encouraging texts from her friends, and a rather odd one from Seto telling her to sit tight- because a rescue mission was underway.

Although, technically, the whole mix up was their fault- they should have realised that Azreal had no intention of sitting around and waiting to be rescued.

However, as she stepped out, fate, as fate so often had a habit of doing, decided to screw her about some more. And so, as she half-hopped, half stepped the metre or so drop, she could clearly hear Ruby and her mother arguing outside her bedroom door. Cursing, Azreal began to climb back into the house- she'd never have time to get away before they realised she was gone.

But she might just have time to make it look like she'd never left. Provided Ruby kept her talking.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Téa, Tristan, Duke, Mai, Serenity and Mokuba were supposed to wait for the others to come back.

However, their attention spans couldn't handle it.

Not wanting to go and watch the fireworks whilst the others weren't there, they plunged back in to the near-deserted stalls and attractions. Most people were already down around the wharf.

"Look!" Téa said excitedly. "Hook a duck!" She glanced above the stall, and gasped again. "And look at the grand prize!" She pointed to the ceiling of the small booth, to where a poster displayed a free season pass for the local water park. "Oh, let's have a go!"

"Uh-uh." Duke replied, shaking his head firmly, backing away. "There is no way I'm going anywhere near those… those… demented things!" He stumbled off in a random direction.

"What's eating him?" Téa asked, confused.

"Well…" Tristan answered slowly as they started after him. "Did you ever wonder how he got that scar…?"

"Oh…"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

By the time the two women entered the room, Anna was- or at least, appeared to be, curled up, asleep on her bed. Unfortunately, the old woman was not as gullible as she should have been. Anna tried to keep her breathing controlled as she came right up close, regarding her suspiciously. The only light, although it was still practically daytime, came spilling in from the hall.

"How can she sleep already?" She knew Azreal was faking it.

"Mother, please!" Ruby cried, keeping her voice low. She knew equally well that her sort-of daughter, as she had become known, was feigning sleep, but was bailing her out again. "Anna hasn't been very well at all, she had a month off, only went back today…"

"She's as fit as a fiddle." She sniffed, but at least she straightened up.

"She's just as ill as you are." Ruby replied, smoothly, ushering the old woman out. Then she went and sat on Anna's bed, and the girl straightened up, looking at her dad's wife in the curtain-and-blind-induced gloom.

"She's right, Ann." Ruby said in the end. "No self-respecting girl of your age could sleep at this time. We only had tea half an hour ago. What were you really up to, and, more to the point, why is the window unlocked?"

Stupid childlocks. Too hard to do up properly in a rush.

"Um…" Anna considered. "Would you believe… I wanted some air?"

"Let's take it as read that I would not, and move onto the fact that you were trying to escape."

Anna shifted embarrassedly. "I was going to leave a note."

Ruby shook her head, but after a short pause spoke again, laughing. "Oh, go on then! You can get the bus home easily enough. Just don't let the old bag catch you! After all, the rest of us have family commitments to her, but as she's so desperate to make sure you know _you _don't…"

Anna was surprised, but then hugged Ruby briefly before leaping out the window once more, and away into the dusk.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The concept was one even Wheeler could grasp. After drawing straws to see who would go (Which, of course, had been the result of Yugi's lecture on fairness) Joey and Yugi had been selected to go to the door, and somehow manage to convince the old woman that they were Immigration officers come to arrest Azreal, an alleged 'Illegal Immigrant'. Seto's argument that in no way did Yugi look the part had nothing to do with it. A further drawing of straws had landed Ryou the part of another 'illegal immigrant' just to add to the realism and confusion of the entire affair.

So Seto had ended up being the one to wait in the car.

He watched the reflections in the wing mirror tensely. They were approaching the door now. Ryou had disappeared, so was presumably in one of the surrounding bushes, waiting to run out and try to 'escape'. So far, so good. But then, if anything had gone wrong _already_, his opinion of them would have to be significantly lower then it already was.

Unfortunately, a proverbial spanner was about to be thrown into the works.

"Seth?" The voice was unmistakable, and had most defiantly _not _been rescued yet.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

There was a bus stop at the end of the road. Azreal would head there. But first, she had to get past the house without getting caught. Shouldn't be too hard; she highly doubted anyone would be looking out the windows. She could pretty much just waltz down the front path.

She hopped down, easily, silently, from the window on the side of the house and gave Ruby a half wave before heading in the general direction of the street. The street, which, her ears soon informed her, someone was walking up. And she really didn't want to bump into whoever it was. The front way was out.

Azreal shrugged, doubling back on herself, and headed through the gate that lead into the garden at the back of the house. Judging by the garden itself, the old witch had quite a green thumb. There were flower beds everywhere, and Azreal didn't even have to look to know what was growing in them and up over the trellises nailed onto the fence. She could have told what they were in no uncertain terms just from the smell. She had always loved them. And she had received some just the day before…

She smiled briefly. Two nights ago, she had been chatting to Seto, as usual, about nothing at all. Or, more precisely, teasing him about his preference for suicidal plants. Somewhere along the way, she had let slip the flower she loved- the rose. He had found that hilarious. And she had to agree, it was so cliché… but there was something about the way roses smelt that she loved, that always calmed and comforted her. But not _red _roses. They had almost been… cheapened, by all the over-use and symbolism that surrounded them. No, Azreal loved white roses- almost ignored, and as a result, in some way pure. There was nothing on Earth, she had said, that was cleaner then a white rose.

And although Seto had laughed at the time, when he had come to visit her the next day, he'd brought some with him. He said after she had sounded so miserable and bored on the phone, he'd just wanted to see her smile.

She had.

Now, however, the smile was slipping away. Azreal felt the memory being tarnished- the idea that she had anything in common with this old viper was almost repulsive. She crossed the garden quickly, refusing to acknowledge the plants that were climbing the fences and into her mind.

She opened the door that joined the garden onto the garage, and walked quickly through the dark room before slipping out the door and directly onto the street, skirting around the front garden, unnoticed. She didn't look around to see who it was on the street- she had read that if you looked at someone for too long they would turn and catch your eye. And she didn't want that. She was finally free.

Grinning like the Cheshire Cat, Azreal strode off down the road. She'd wait for the bus, and then, after a five minute drive, she'd track down the others- she couldn't wait to see their expressions when she found out she'd escaped…

And if that car on the kerb belonged to who she _thought _it did, she wouldn't have to wait long.

She approached cautiously. There was someone in the car. What was he doing here…?

"Seth?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto was sorely tempted just to let Yugi and Joey attempt to rescue someone who wasn't there. But at the last moment, some shred of humanity he'd managed to miss along the line kicked in and he jabbed his fist into the car horn.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Whilst Azreal was making her bid for freedom, Ruby and her mother were talking in the kitchen. And Ruby, who normally wouldn't say boo to a goose, was this time pulling no punches.

"I just don't see _why_," She continued, keeping her voice as steady as she could. "You have to be so mean to her all the time. Can't you see she's trying!"

"Don't take that tone with me." Her mother sniffed. "Besides, I rather like the girl."

Ruby blinked, too surprised for the moment to comment on the fact that she didn't show it very well.

"I like her." The old woman repeated. "She's got spunk, and just a little cheek." She laughed. "Yes, don't you see? You _have _to be harsh, you _have _to push them to see what their limit is. I have no respect for someone with no will of their own, who can't take anything, nor stand up for anything. Can't stand a weakling, me. But, I have to say that I think… Yes, I'm quite sure, I've met my match in that girl." She picked up the mug of tea she'd been stirring and sipped it, eyes shining with a mischief far too young for her. "But don't go thinking I'll be going any easier on her- this is war. And war is always a war, no matter how much you respect the enemy."

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but then the doorbell rang, and the older woman hastened to answer it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

As far as Joey was concerned, it was all going rather well. Checking a final time that Ryou was prepared, hidden in the bushes- He couldn't find the guy to ask him, but that presumably meant it was all okay- and asked Yugi if he was ready- He wasn't, but wanted to get on with it anyway- Joey stretched out and pressed heavily on the doorbell.

A moment later, a silhouette appeared on the other side of the door, illuminated in the dim hallway.

"Who's there?" An old, but by no means frail voice called. This would be the grandmother, then.

"Im…" Joey began, about to yell 'Immigration' and demand to be let in. However, he was interrupted by a blaring car horn, and he trailed off as he looked sharply in the direction of Kaiba's car to see what the matter was- only to see Azreal waving at him, looking bewildered.

Suddenly, she dived in front of the parked car, hiding from view. The reason for this was that her grandmother had appeared at the door, looking suspicious. Uh-oh. Time to abort mission. But how…

_Talk now. Think later._

"I'm sorry to tell you that you're killing the planet whenever you wash at 60 rather then 40!" Joey blurted, hoping it was smooth enough for her to think that his previous 'im' had been an 'I'm'.

"Uh, that's right!" Yugi nodded. "We're from the, uh, Youth Alliance of… um…"

"Protecting the… um…" Joey continued falteringly.

"Planet!" Yugi yelped. "The Youth Alliance of Protecting the Planet! Right!"

"That's right!" Joey agreed. "So, like, y'know…"

"Recycle!" Yugi put in.

"And… um… Make sure you don't… Uh…"

"Waste resources!"

"Yeah!" Joey agreed. The woman was not looking impressed. "Yes, and we all need to watch our…" He went blank. He knew what he was going to say- or he _had _known. Suddenly, he had forgotten. The panic was setting in… He glanced at Yugi, who looked back with a slight shake of his head. Oh dear…

"CO2 emissions!" A nearby bush hissed.

"CO2 emissions." Joey repeated, gratefully.

The woman looked down at them stonily.

"Well… um…" Yugi faltered. "I guess that's it… Thanks for listening!"

"Yeah!" Joey agreed. He should have known this would draw attention back to him… "Um… So, Save the World! And while we're about it, Save the Whales to! Yeah… Gotta go!" All pretence now abandoned, he turned and ran.

Azreal's grandmother stared beadily now at Yugi.

He shrugged and waved helplessly before running after his friend.

A second later, an odd-looking boy even more oddly climbed awkwardly out of the bushes, catching his foot on a twig and somehow managing to snap off an entire length of branch.

She looked down at him as he struggled to his feet. He seemed surprised. Apparently, he'd thought she'd gone in.

"Um…" He blinked. "Sorry about your bush!" He pressed the snapped branch into her hand and ran off.

Ruby's mother didn't bother giving chase, going inside and mumbling to herself about how crazy the world was getting.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

As soon as the front door shut, they all- including Azreal- dived into the car. Seto and Azreal, who had not only heard the exchange at the door but cringed at it, were laughing. Not that you could really tell with Kaiba. But the movement of his shoulders _suggested _laughter.

"I don't find it funny." Joey pouted. "What if she had pulled out a walking stick on us!"  
"It's your own fault." Azreal sniffed, her stern tone being ruined by impossible to control sniggers. "What are you guys doing here!"

"These guys approached me to come and rescue you." Seto replied, jerking his head to the back seat. "We should have figured you could get out on your own." He went to turn the key in the ignition.

"Ah, well, it's the thought that counts." Azreal giggled, kissing him lightly on the only part of his face she could reach- just below and before his ear. "Thanks."

Seto felt like his entire side had gone numb, and Azreal did not fail to notice his expression as he tried to snap out of his daze enough to start the car. Hmm… It would seem she'd accidentally found his sensitive spot. How interesting…

"Hey." Joey complained, not really serious. "We helped to! How about thanking us?"

"I'm not going to kiss you, Joey." Azreal replied smoothly from the seat in front. "Can't reach you from around the seat, for one thing." She glanced at Seto, her eyes laughing even as her mouth and tone remained serious. "But perhaps later."

"Don't even think about it." Seto said flatly, not rising to the bait as he finally released the hand brake to go back to the festival.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"What are you doing?" Seto asked, not worrying about keeping his voice low. No-one but her would hear him over the fireworks anyway.

"Pinching myself to make sure I'm not hallucinating." Azreal replied, laughing.

It really was unbelievable. When they had arrived, she had realised that she had forgotten her bag. It was still under the bed, where she'd hidden it before Ruby and her mother had entered the room. So she was watching the fireworks in a beautiful dress and an ugly cardigan. But she was not cold. Not with Seto's arm around her shoulders in a way that made her want to melt.

The fact that he was doing this in public was unbelievable enough. The fact that they were standing only a metre away from where Joey and Mai were in a very similar position was the stuff of dreams. Next to them, her eyes saw the tiny discreet movement as Téa took hold of Yugi's hand. He didn't pull away. Mokuba and Serenity were there to, talking and laughing. At the other end of the row, slightly distanced, Ryou was watching the fireworks with an odd kind of smile, looking pensive.

And so, they all stood there together, watching as a gold shatter of stars gave way to red sparks, faces bathed in light that changed colour with the bangs and crashes, as the sparks danced in the sky and reflected in the ocean beneath them of the display they'd all but missed.

Amazing.

"You know…" Seto said, sounding almost… sheepish. "We'd get a better view from the cliff top…"

"…I'll be there in a minute." Azreal promised, looking worriedly down the row. "Give me five."

"Alright."

She watched as he went, shivering slightly as the breeze hit her. Then she quietly, unnoticed by her friends, moved away from the main group.

"Ryou?" She asked, coming and standing beside him. He didn't glance away from the aerial display.

"Hello." He replied. "They're really something, aren't they?"

"Yeah." Azreal agreed, glancing up for a second before looking back at him. "Now, what's bugging you?"

"Huh?" He blinked. He was _sure _he had been more cheerful then usual…

"Heh." She laughed. "Seriously, I know _something's _bothering you. Otherwise, why have you been so determined to be overly happy today?"

Ryou looked at her in surprise, and then the smile he'd held in place all day slipped slightly, and suddenly he had that sad smile on his face again. "I could say the exact same thing to you." He replied eventually.

Impulsively, Azreal hugged him quickly.

"You looked like you needed it." She shrugged.

"I… I'm going back to England." Ryou said at last.

She was silent for a moment.

"You want to?" She said softly, asking what, to her mind, was the most important question.

"Yeah." Ryou answered, sounding certain- if a little sad.

"Then why are you unhappy?"

He considered. "Well… You must realise that when I came here- Japan, that is- a lot of bad stuff happened. But it was a lot of fun to. I've been happy here, and that was certainly a new experience. I guess I'm just going to miss you all."

She said nothing, turning away from him to watch the rather impressive explosions continuing as loudly as ever above them.

"I just…" Ryou continued. "I'm just not as strong as you are, Anna!"

She blinked. "What?"

He swallowed, gasping for air. "I just can't keep… I just can't…" He closed his eyes, briefly, getting his thoughts in order. "I ran away from England to come here. And now… I guess I'm running away again, right? Because no matter where I go, I can't get away from it…! And, well, I need… I need an uneventful life- or slightly less eventful, at least- I need to just…" He shrugged helplessly. "I guess when I ran here, I left myself behind, if you see what I mean. I was just so scared about hurting people that I left someone behind. And I think it's about time I went back for him." He gave a lopsided smile. "I'll miss you all, though."

Azreal nodded slowly. "If that's what you want…"

"It is." Ryou interjected.

"Then I guess that's fine by me!" She declared. "When do you leave?"

"Just as soon as we break up for the summer." Ryou told her. "I… I'm going to a college. Back in Stoke. It looks like a great place, Ann… I'm… looking forward to it."

"And good luck to you!" Azreal smiled, although inside she didn't feel much like smiling at all. Some of this indecision flickered on her face, and she couldn't help but ask. "Will I see- I mean, will you ever come back?"

With a sudden jolt, she realised that if he left now, she probably wouldn't ever see him again.

"I don't think I'll have much of a choice." Ryou flicked the Ring wryly. "But, yeah. I'll come back."

"Then that's that." Azreal sighed.

"Do me a favour, and don't tell the others." Ryou sighed. "Not yet."

"Okay."

"Well…" Ryou gave that lopsided smile. "I'm not leaving right this second, but…" He stuck out a hand half-jokingly. "It was nice knowing you."

"Yes." She laughed with a hint of sadness. "It was. Bye, Ryou." She began to move off in the general direction of the cliff path.

"Goodbye, Azreal." Ryou called after her, and then went back to watching the fireworks.

And this time, the smile was real.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto watched as she sat down next to him, drawing her knees up to her chin. Probably a better idea then sitting cross-legged while she was in a dress, but he didn't feel that was the whole reason.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Fine." She sighed.

"What kept you…?" Seto probed.

"Nothing." She shook her head. "I was just… talking to Joey."

"What about?"

Finally, her normal smile flitted across her face. That was better. "Oh, you know…" She said innocently. "All the Big Questions."

Seto gave a short, sharp laugh. "Huh. The only question Wheeler's interested in is 'Do you want fries with that?'."

"Don't be mean." Azreal poked him as she tried not to laugh. "He helped you today."

"If you call that help."

"Seto!"

"Okay, okay…" He conceded. "I guess the Mutt did his bit."

"Can I get that in writing?" Azreal giggled. "Although, I never thought I'd see you working together with them lot."

"Neither did I." Seto admitted. "And don't expect it to be a frequent occurrence, either. Never again. _Ever_."

"I don't believe you." Azreal pouted, trying to sound clever. "If you hated them that much, why did you do it, hmm?"

Seto looked at her, exasperated. "Why do you think?"

She looked blank. So he proceeded to show her.

And as the last firework fizzled out, and applause thundered up from the jetty, Azreal pulled away from his lips just enough to smile at him.

"Well… I guess that makes you my Knight in Shining Armour, right?"

"Did you ever doubt it?" Seto smirked back. And they didn't talk again for some time.

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A/N: And there you have it! Thanks for reading, and join me in the next chapter when we say goodbye for now to Ryou and I will finally finish our trip through the months! _(Faints)_


	21. Runaway

A/N: Arrk! Okay, I know this _horribly _late, but given the length of it and all the other stuff I'm had happening (This household is chaotic as always, oh, and school is so annoying at getting in the way, plus the average teenage social life… you know how it gets) perhaps it's excusable… But sorry for the wait anyways!

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **The Plot dragons weren't the problem! _(mutters darkly about baths and English coursework)_

**Dragonlady222**: I'm glad you liked the chapter! As for the grandma... well, no-one's ALL bad, right?

Disclaimer: Nopety nope.

**Note**s: Slight swearing in this chapter, and THE FRIENDSHIP MARKER OF DOOM! Ahhhh! I think that's it… Oh, wait, I… took some liberties on the pasts of Joey, Seto, and particuallary Ryou. But then, given as no-one seems to KNOW for sure what happened to him, I think it's excusable! Anyways, at last, the chapter! Oiy, it took so long to write…

Nineteen: Runaway

_July_

Clash. Bang. A scrape of steel on steel. A melee of sounds that merged into one cacophony of metal.

Throughout the hall, the clinks and crashes and scrapes sounded, but nowhere, eerily, was there any human voice or sound- the slight gasps or heavy breathing that may have escaped from the masked figures swallowed totally by the sounds of the fights going on all around. No-one knew who they were fighting, or, in all honesty, why, but they fought on. And enjoyed it.

Today was their fencing final. After this lesson, they would be moving onto the next activity in their PE lessons. The training was done. Now it was time to fight, or fail.

This instructor was even more eccentric then the others. In a fight, he explained, you were not likely to have spent weeks watching your opponent fight. You would not know them, you wouldn't know their style, their technique. You would have to learn to detach from any personal feelings if you were to fight your best. You did not think about the person beneath the mask. If you did, you wouldn't kill him. And that could cost your life.

By this point, the students had been giving each other uneasy looks. Azreal couldn't help but comment quietly that you weren't exactly likely to be carrying a sword around either, but it didn't matter. Fencing had certainly proved popular, and when the command came to suit up and grab a foil, it was done quickly and eagerly, with some surprise when they saw their teacher was so adamant to make sure you couldn't tell who was under the suit that he had even brought out masks with a back, that would cover hair and necks. They could just about see through the front, but there was no way to see who you were fighting. You were supposed to remain silent, so your voice did not give you away.

The only thing the students, and the instructor as he paired them randomly, had to go on was heights and stance. Witch meant Yugi was at a disadvantage, as Ryou knew exactly who he was, and that Yugi was far better at parrying then actual, as Azreal called it, 'poking'. He would need to surprise him…

Ryou was not the only one to know exactly who and what he was up against. You can't be as close as they were without instinctively knowing the second they walked in. Seto and Azreal were well aware they were fighting each other, but it did not deter them for a second. In fact, if anything, they were more determined then ever to beat each other- first to five hits won. And they were not being strictly orthodox, both using moves that, weren't exactly on the curriculum.

"Where did you learn to fence?" Seto asked, as Azreal came close to him, sweeping his foil up to meet hers with a mighty clash.

"Inspiring people wasn't all rainbows and sunshine, you know." Azreal replied calmly, hopping back, slowly moving around him on the small foam mat that was their entire world to attempt to try and catch him off guard. But Seto knew her well, and knowing she was deliberately delaying another attempt to attack, he took the opportunity to thrust at her.

With a swish, she lowered the specialist sword slightly, knocking his away. But she didn't ask him the question back. She knew better then that. And he didn't question in what situation she'd need to be able to fence in. He knew better.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something…" Seto began, as she spun past him, dodging another well-aimed but sadly unsuccessful joust with his compliments. "I've been invited to another one of these things."

"First, that isn't a question." She replied calmly, aiming for his chest. At the last moment, Seto pulled his own sword up in front of him, managing to block just in time. He needed to concentrate. But she was already continuing what was almost a normal conversation, but with swords, a lot more pauses, and a little more breathlessly. "And secondly," She panted, detangling her sword and taking a step back. "What thing?"

"Business thing." Seto turned his failed jab into a shrug, twisted as she rotated behind him. "You know. What they do when they want good relations with other businesses. Invite them to some sort of party, and do all the small talk that may or may not lead to favours and deals. I believe this one is a wedding."

"Doesn't seem to be your kind of thing." Azreal replied, regaining her balance as he smoothly dodged her over-enthusiastic pounce. "Man, would you just keep still!"

Seto chuckled, jabbing quickly and causing her to leap back, narrowly avoiding the tip of his foil. "I could say the same to you. But no, they are not my thing. That's why I never host them. But…" He pushed towards her.

"But?" She asked, as she stepped forward to meet him, swords coming together with a clash.

"It's good to show your face at these… things…" He sighed, practically bending over backwards to avoid her attack. He moved sideways, out from under her sword, but almost overbalanced. Before Azreal could react to his second of weakness, he had half-rolled, half-walked out of range and sprung back to his feet, breathing heavily. She swung at him, and he just knew that under the mask she was smiling. "These… balls, I suppose… I don't think so." He parried her smartly, pushing her off easily. She may have an equal grace and skill to him, but in pure strength, she couldn't hold up for long. It was the fact that they were so evenly matched that this was taking so long. He doubted either of them would take so much time, win or lose, against somebody else. "Why don't you just give it up, Az?"

"No way, you pog." She replied, matching his parry with one of his own as he attempted to hit her. "So, you're going to attend this ball, then?" She jabbed at him.

Seto changed his block into an attack. Still recovering from her own attack, she was surprised, and stopped him less then a centimetre away. They froze for a second.

"Yes." Seto replied, as he tried to free the foil and drive it home. "And I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

"Seems a strange proposal to make, given our current circumstances." She grunted, holding him off but unable to push him away. "But, you know, balls… all the posh people… it would be all full of old people and be all la-di-da. I wouldn't fit in. I wouldn't want to try, honestly. A boring situation with a bunch of people I don't know. No thank you!"

Finally, Seto swept his sword away. Even if he had managed to get in and finally poke her, he the attack would have lost all force. He would have had to almost re-charge the attack before it even reached her.

"It's just-" He continued, as they moved up and down in a barrage of attacks and blocks that you couldn't tell which was which anymore. He paused as they circled around, putting all his focus into the movement of his sword. By now, everyone else had finished and was watching them, agape, wondering who the two were, but unable to hear the conversation over the clash of foils. "I'm sick of going alone. There are rumours that I'm privately… twisted." He admitted.

Azreal laughed slightly, as Seto forced her foil to the side. She took a step to, in order to regain her balance. Taking advantage of her slight stumble, Seto went to jab, but she only leapt backwards. And the chain of blocks and attacks began again.

"In this day and age, I don't think that's any serious problem." She commented, side-stepping out of the way. He attempted to swing the attack round and change direction, but she swept her foil up and blocked it easily.

"Oh, but they think I am ashamed to admit it, so those who…really are, dislike me as much as the others."

"That's never bothered you before." She gasped, shooting forward, but to no avail as she was blocked again. "People not liking you."

"It does when it means they won't deal with me." Seto answered, twisting to free his blocked attack and backed off to try again. When he was close again, he continued. "I would be really gratefully if you came…"

"That's emotional blackmail." Azreal grumbled. They were circling now, close together, but not quite within reach. Partly to judge an appropriate time, and partly to regain their breath. "I never realised there was so much politics in running a company…"

"It's _all _politics. Is that a yes?" Seto demanded, advancing, but keeping his foil steady. Azreal did the same.

"…I suppose…" She sighed as once again, she was parried. "At least you'll _have _to dance with me."

"Is that not what we are doing?" Seto asked mockingly. "I needed to ask in advance. I don't suppose you'll have any plans for September yet?"

"September…?" Azreal echoed. No, she had made a point not to make any plans further ahead then next month because- Seto leapt forward suddenly, knocking her foil with such ferocity that, surprised by the suddenness and strength of the attack, she dropped it. It clattered to the floor, and she was effectively disarmed.

Uh-oh…

Seto calmly held his sword out to the side, blocking her from reclaiming her foil. He began to slowly advance on her as she hastily tried to avoid him.

"It would appear the game is up." Seto smirked verbally. He took his time, toying with her, letting her circle slowly, but always remaining between her right, sword hand, and the foil itself, lying despondently on the floor. Eventually, she stopped.

Seto slowly held the tip of the foil only a centimetre from her chest, fully enjoying watching her stand, motionless, waiting for the attack. The Sword was on her left. By the time she had picked it up and transferred it to her right hand, he could have hit her five times and maybe even disarmed her again. He was in no rush, had no worries, as he waited for her to just try it. "I believe I've won."

It was just a pity there was one thing he didn't know about Azreal.

She may have favoured her right hand, more to fit in then anything else, but that didn't mean she couldn't use her left.

As Seto would shortly discover, all Muses were born ambidextrous.

Quick as a flash, she bent slightly, and grabbed her foil in her left hand, automatically changing to the left grip and stance. Before Seto even had time to realise what he had done, she was holding her foil just a centimetre before _his _chest.

Seto gasped slightly, but his own foil did not waver. It was just matter of who struck first now.

"No, I believe that we have a stalemate." She replied.

"T…Time!" The instructor bellowed, disbelievingly. It really was time. In five minutes, school would let out for the day, and they still needed to pack up… "Disengage!"

Regretfully, Seto and Azreal each took a large step back, and away from each other.

"Salute!"

Breathing heavily, suddenly realising how hot they were in the heavy gear, the two brought the swords up almost mechanically before sweeping it down in the traditional salute they had been shown.

The instructor walked closer. "Foils."  
They handed them over to him, and he stashed them with the others, before yelling the final instruction back at them. "And, bow."

They both inclined themselves forward, removing the masks as they went. By the time they straightened up, Azreal with the heavy mask under her arm, and Seto with the strap wound round his fingers, everyone had realised who they were. And as the recognitions echoed around, they smiled at each other, slightly red in the face, knackered, but also rather happy.

That had been quite enjoyable. And rather memorable. Carrying a fluent conversation in a sword fight had to be a first.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

However, Seto was not the only one with a proposition that day. About half way back to the mansion that night, as she and Mokuba walked along, Anna breached the subject.

"Camping?" Mokuba repeated, sounding slightly confused.

"Uh-huh." Anna nodded, "Ever been?"

"Um…" Mokuba frowned, half trying to remember, half wondering why she asked. He thought hard, going as far back as his memory would allow. It was hard. So hard, he often wondered if he had had any birth parents at all. It wasn't like he knew anything about them.

But he did have a few memories, that mainly returned in dreams. A feeling of being held, being safe, like nothing could ever go wrong again. And then he knew they had existed.

He could vaguely remember their old house. There were photos everywhere. Including one of him, no more then perhaps two, his brother, looking completely different while he wore an honest smile, and his mother, standing before a tent.

"I think so…" He replied eventually. "I think my parents must have taken us… I don't remember, but there was a photo…"

Anna frowned now. She didn't remember seeing any photos at all around their home… so what had happened to them all…?

Mokuba was just wondering the same thing. But only one person knew the answer, and it was the one person they wouldn't risk asking.

"Why do you ask?" Mokuba asked, curiously.

She shrugged. "I just wondered what you and Seto did for a holiday."

Mokuba looked down. The truth was, he had never been. Sure, there had been the odd morning, afternoon, occasionally even whole day out, when Seto hadn't been able to take the guilt of never seeing him, but it had never been so much as overnight. It couldn't be- Seto hadn't the time. "…It depends." He answered eventually.

"Oh." Anna replied. "Well, I've never been camping either."

"Oh."

"But…" She continued, and Mokuba looked up, growing suspicious at the gleam in her eyes.

"But…?" He prompted.

"But we're going the first week of the summer, and you and Seto are invited!" She finished cheerily.

Mokuba choked, stumbling. Then he stopped dead, staring at her in horror.

Anna threw her hands up in order to pacify him. "Hey, hey, if was just an idea… If you don't want to…"

"Have you asked Seto?" Mokuba demanded, sounding strangled.

"Well, no…" Anna said. "I'm gonna try, but I figured if I couldn't convince him you could… but y'know, it's not, like, obligatory or anything. You don't have to come." She continued to walk down the road, hiding her disappointment.

Mokuba practically rugby tackled her from behind. "OF COURSE I'M COMING!" He yelled, enthusiastically. "And so is Seto!" He nodded determinedly, before breaking into a huge grin. "Uh, that is, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

Anna grinned to as they went on their way.

"Hey, what's it like sleeping in a tent?" Mokuba asked excitedly.

"I don't know, I've never slept in one." Anna replied, tolerantly.

The questions continued all the way down the road, as Mokuba seemed unable, in his excitement, to comprehend the fact that she didn't know. Or maybe it was the questions, not the answers that were important, exciting, to him. Anna couldn't help but laugh as he got totally hyper over it. She'd _have _to convince Seto now. Perhaps even implement a guilt trip…

She was just as excited, though. Camping… it would certainly be an experience, with or without the Kaiba Brothers.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"…And… 2 makes 7.091, with the point-3r, that's… uh…" Her mobile began to ring on the shelf. With some relief, Azreal abandoned the maths for a second to answer it.

"Yello?" She asked, slouching back down into her chair and glaring at the open maths book. Perhaps if it burst into flame she could get away with not doing it… It wasn't like she hadn't been trying _all night… _Azreal's biggest flaw, though she was blind to it, was that she was never willing to ask for help when she needed it. Namely, when dealing with mathematics.

"What have you done?" Seto asked, wearily.

"Oh, I love you to." Azreal spat, sarcastically. "What do you want?"

Slightly taken aback by her bad mood, Seto deliberately spoke in a lighter tone to try and pacify her. "Hey, hey… It's just I've just got in from work to find Mokuba jumping around like some kind of deranged Kuriboh and bellowing something I can't follow but that seems to involve you. So, I'd appreciate being let into the loop, as it were."

Azreal said nothing, just giggled uncertainly. "Uh…"

Seto groaned. "Oh no…"

"What?" She asked, suppressing a snort.

"I just realised what I said to calm him down…" Seto said.

"And that was?" She prompted.

"Well, I said… 'Yes, yes…'" Seto informed her, mimicking his pacifying tone.

There was a slight pause at the other end of the line, followed by raucous laughter. "Well, I guess that makes my job easier…" Azreal spluttered.

"What have I just sold my soul to?" Seto demanded. She laughed all the harder. "Az! What did I just say?"

"Congratulations…" Azreal said, gasping for breath and imitating a low voice. "You have just won an all-exclusive, all-_in_clusive, camping holiday for you and your brother with my family and I!"

"…_What!" _Seto yelled.

"Well, don't sound so happy." Azreal laughed. "It's a great site, honestly. He only lets it out to one group at a time, and it's next to this _huge _lake and surrounded by woods- I've seen pictures- and-"

"No." Seto said, flatly.

"Heh." Azreal snorted. "Do you really think Mokuba'll let you out of it?"

"You had no right to ask him before me anyway!" Seto flared up. "I don't have time for holidays, it's called running a company!"

"No need to yell." She replied, sounding hurt. He deflated a little.

"Well, what did you think you were playing at?" He asked, exasperated. "What made you think I had the time?"

Azreal laughed bitterly. "Honestly, I don't think there's a CEO in the world who works as hard as you do! You're supposed to _allocate _work, not do it all yourself!"

"I'll take that as a compliment." Seto replied, icily.

"You do that." She answered, sounding annoyed. "But, you know, it's not like you're going to go bankrupt if you take a week off, Seth."

"You haven't seen the idiots I work with." Seto dismissed, snorting. "I still haven't fathomed out how half of them came into my employment, actually…"

Azreal paused for a moment. "Seto, if you don't want to come…" She said, reigning in her rage. He was just making excuses now.

"Don't you think I want to come?" Seto demanded, laughing at the absurdity of it all. "You think that's all there is to it! I would love to come, Az, but-"

"See!" She pointed out, gently. "That 'but' again. Responsibility is all well and good, Seth, but you know as well as I do that you could take the week off if you wanted to. I mean, you weren't exactly working in Battle City, were you?"

"That's not-"

"Don't lie to me!" Azreal interrupted. "If you don't want to come, fine. Just don't lie to me about it! And don't lie to yourself, either." She took a deep breath, calming down. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I asked, alright? I'm sorry Mokuba is going to get disappointed, and I'm sorry it was apparently such a stupid idea. Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't realise that you buried yourself in work so much that you've lost yourself along the way, and I'm sorry that I don't know what it is you're trying to hide from!"

There was dead silence. The statement had not exactly been fair, however true it was, but it had been said, and could not be taken back, nor, judging by the silence, denied.

Azreal calmed herself again. "Okay… okay… look, Seth… I shouldn't have said that. But the fact still remains… I know life is hard for you, but I just thought that maybe it'd be nice for Mokuba to have a holiday. I mean, how has it been since you've taken- um, since he's been away? I just thought it'd be a bit of fun for the dude."

"Then why not just take Mokuba?" Seto asked, not sounding angry at her, just a little… pensive. But, also, she could practically hear his resolve weakening. She decided to take the chance and worm into the cracks.

"Because I invited both of you." She said, softly. "It wouldn't just be good for him, you know… How long has it been since you thought of anything other then work? It'd be a change of pace. It might even be _fun_, Seto! I mean, I've never met anyone who needs a bit of unlimited fun then you! I really think it'd be good for you."

Seto made no response to her impassioned words, but she could practically _hear _him wavering.

"And good for us." She added, hastily.

Seto sighed deeply. "Why do I get the feeling that I've just been subjected to emotional blackmail?"

"Because you just have." Azreal grinned. "Just like you did to me earlier, ne? So…" She teased. "Is that a yes?"

"I suppose…" Seto sighed ruefully again. "That was a very underhand tactic."

Azreal laughed. "Oh, you cheer me up…" Then she glanced down, seeing her math book still there, and groaned. She had almost forgot.

Seto laughed; or, at least, she assumed the deep rumbling noise he made was a laugh. "Judging by that noise, you have just remembered your maths homework."

"Don't remind me anymore…" She moaned. "I've been trying all night…"

"I still have to do mine…" Seto replied, and she heard the rustling of textbooks. "Okay, what did you get for number one?"

"It's wrong…" She warned.

"No, don't worry, it's foolproof- you won't be far off…" He encouraged. "What did you get?"

"Okay…" She repeated doubtfully, finding the answer on the page. "One-point-three-seven."

"Well, you're only seven-point-zero-zero-two out…" Seto tried. Azreal sighed.

"So it's… um… give me a minute… Eight-point-three-seven-two, right?"

A slight pause. "Close, but… the other way. Negative numbers…"

Azreal groaned. "Then how did I get one and thirty seven!"

"I don't know." Seto laughed. "But I can tell you how to get minus-five-point-six-three-two."

"Good, because I won't even be able to _write _that."

"Aw, don't be grumpy…" Seto wheedled. She snorted.

"Look who's talking."

"Just let me help you, Az…"

"Fine. As long as you return the favour."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Azreal, for once, left the house early that Sunday morning. She was supposed to be meeting Kaho in The Milk Bar a little later on, but she was way too early. So instead, she went for a little walk, not really knowing or caring, as usual, where she was going, singing a little song as she thought.

"...I'm tired of the city, all the dirt and the noise, why don't we run away- to a place where the sun still shines? And in the green, green, grass, it'll come to pass, we'll start a new life…"

She wasn't paying attention, so she didn't really notice the grass verges merging into concrete slabs, the neatly mown lawns changing into scruffy tufts grass determinedly growing up through cracks, and the houses being replaced by tower blocks that were nowhere near as posh as the ones that Ryou lived in. When she eventually noticed, Azreal looked around in despair at the overturned bins, and graffiti. Even the air seemed cooler here, and she wished she'd brought some sort of a jacket after all. She had most defiantly managed to wander into the 'bad' area of town, but she wondered vaguely what made it bad- who did it? Who would mess up their own place to live? One thing was certain, though- no-one lived here by choice.

She ploughed on regardless, her song stilled. It was a test of courage. She'd like to think that she wasn't one to judge on appearance, and she was determined to find one redeeming feature of this place, trying to convince herself she wasn't so prejudice that she would assume anyone who lived here would bash her head in. And if she could walk all the way through, back into 'nice' areas, without quickening her pace or running back, then she would have proved she was above that. But, try as she might, she could not bring the song back. The entire estate was overlooked by tower blocks, and the one part that wasn't just gave a clearer view of the hill, with a warehouse perched on top. It made the back of Azreal's neck tingle, intuition starting up. There was something happening- or had happened, or would happen- in that place, but there was nothing to be done. She just walked faster.

It was to her great surprise that she came to walk past a small Church, sandwiched between a Chinese take-away and a convince store, grills still down. It seemed so out of place here, where even the heat of the sun had abandoned the area. The Church itself looked even more out of place, a small Graveyard attached to the side, the stark white or grey stone contrasting to the green grass that stood out a mile in this sea of concrete. It was really quite beautiful, and seemed to radiate calm. There was even a small thicket of trees- she could just see a row of trees looping behind the Church. She wondered if it was some sort of communal garden, and without thinking, headed towards it. Something about that tiny wood…

Azreal had to fight hard to resist the impulse to run straight towards the wood. Something was defiantly setting her Muse senses right off, senses of something amazing, and she was sure it was coming from that wood… But she forced herself to walk slowly- it was a graveyard, after all. As she looked at the names, she wondered vaguely who they had all been. It was an odd feeling. Once upon a time, all these stones had been living, breathing people, with hopes and dreams, and likes and dislikes, and she wondered about them. Had they had loved ones, or were they lonely? Did they love and laugh and dream? Or were they as cold as the stone?

"Good morning."

Azreal spun round, surprised by the sudden cheery voice. "Uh… Morning…"

The guy, no more then a year older then her smiled. "Well, I have to say, it's unusual to see anyone new around here! Not that I'm complaining, mind you- Well, the majority of the Church _is_ so old, we need some more youth!"

"Oh, no, no-" Azreal tried hastily. "I just-"

"Oh, sorry!" He apologised, suddenly looking embarrassed. "I didn't realise… so sorry… well… I didn't mean to disturb you if you're…well…" He gestured at the grave she was standing in front of.

"No, I didn't know her." Azreal replied, embarrassed now. "I was just…"

"Oh, well!" He continued, grinning again. You could just tell this guy was never seen without a smile. "Well, then I'm sorry for embarrassing you! Well, I'm going in, so, well, goodbye!" He started walking towards the main door of the Church, where a few more teens were waving at him. "Unless, of course, well, you're coming in…?"

Azreal wanted to say no, but he was looking at her so hopefully…

"Uh, sure." She replied, mentally yelling at her brain for saying stupid things.

"Well, excellent!" He cheered, then gestured at her. "Well, come on then! Oh, and by the way, they call me Well on account of, well, my tendency to say 'Well' a lot!"

Azreal followed 'Well' over to the group of teens, who all proved to be as hyper as he was, and wondered what she had gotten herself into.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Seto was working from home. The reason was the new apprentice his secretary had hired. He knew it had been a mistake to give his secretary the authority to do that- he'd thought it would save him the trouble of finding an assistant, but it had only caused more bother.

Seto had always made a point to hire male secretaries, just in case. His secretary, however, had no such qualms, and hired a very well qualified, very hard working, very polite assistant to help him in the day to day tasks. And Seto could find no reason to fire her without being accused of unfair dismissal.

But the way she kept trying to flirt with him, and the way her skirts and tops kept becoming shorter defiantly unnerved him. So today he was hiding in the mansion. It was a Sunday, so most of the departments would be shut anyway.

A quiet knock came at the door, and on Seto's answer, Mokuba's head appeared around the door.

"Seto?" He asked, biting his lip but eyes shining with a hopeful excitement.

"I've already said yes." Seto replied, tolerantly. Mokuba certainly wanted the assurance that they were defiantly going on this blasted trip… Which he was secretly looking forward to.

"No, not that!" Mokuba replied. "It's just… there's a woman who wants to see you. She said… she said she's mom's sister, Seto! She says she's our Aunt!"

Seto looked up sharply. "What? And you let her in the house without telling me!"

"No…" Mokuba replied, backing off slightly. "Ms Portly did… But Seto, can you imagine? A family!"  
"Send her in…" Seto replied gruffly, frowning. He didn't remember his mother ever having a sister, but then, his memory from that time was rarely reliable. But if life had taught him anything, it was that everything was too good too hope for.

A moment later, Mokuba entered the room with a tall, slim woman, with hair the same colour as his own. He recognised her instantly.

"Get out!" He growled, trying to keep his voice flat.

The woman looked down at Mokuba, and shrugged before gesturing at the door. Mokuba threw a confused look at Seto before scurrying out. Seto waited till he'd gone.

"You know full well I meant you." He glared. "Now get out."

"Seth, just hear me out…" She pleaded.

Seto's fist inadvertedly curled into a fist. "You have no right to call me that."

She laughed. "I see you still hate me, then, Seto."

"What do you want?" Seto demanded. He thought he had seen the back of this woman many years ago.

"Would you believe I felt bad leaving you?" She asked.

"No, I would not."

"Seto, please…" She tried. "I know you don't like me, but please, give me a chance! I can look after you, and Mokuba to-"

"You didn't care about him then, and you don't now! You lied to him, and I bet you would've lied to me if I didn't recognise you! Aunt, indeed!" Seto stood up, hatred pouring out of him. All of those years ago, at the orphanage, she had only chosen him to begin with because he looked enough like her to pass as her son, and, apparently, the resemblance was still enough for Mokuba to believe her lie. Imagine her delight when he had turned out to be a bright, happy, polite little boy to boot. She hadn't been nearly so thrilled to meet Mokuba. She had nearly adopted them regardless. Nearly. She never turned up to sign the final adoption papers. Later, she had tried to tell Seto it was because she didn't have room for two, but he knew that wasn't the case. She didn't want Mokuba, who, at that point, was just an easily scared little kid, not quite able what had happened to his family. And now here she was, back, trying to tell him she felt guilty about leaving them!

"Seto, please don't bear a grudge…" She said quietly. "Don't you think it bothers me that I just left you? I was young and shallow… I wasn't ready. But now I really think I…" She trailed off. Seto was meeting her eyes without remorse, and it was rather unnerving her.

Seto knew what she was thinking. He couldn't read minds, but he could read body language. Looks. This woman was about as sincere as the time he'd told Joey he wanted to be friends. She wasn't plagued by guilt, she didn't love him as her own child. Which meant she could only be after one thing-

His success.

Seto's glare was turned up a notch. He hated people like this. He had succeeded, on his own, he hadn't needed anyone to help him. And he defied anyone who said he did.

But then… a family. He remembered Mokuba's eyes, shining hopefully. This woman would most defiantly go through the motions of caring, if it would get her money. Could he possibly agree? Practically _pay_ someone who couldn't care less about Mokuba to care? And sometimes, he just wasn't around. Mokuba needed to know-think- that there was someone else who cared about him, maybe…

Then Seto noticed the picture on his desk. He didn't look at it often, but it was a nice photograph, taken that Christmas Eve. Him and Az, looking up in surprise at the Mistletoe above their heads. Mokuba in the background, holding the stick, giggling. Yugi had actually taken the photo, but had given Azreal a copy. And she had given it to Seto. But he had to admit, he looked a lot happier there. That had been a fun day, for all of them. Including his younger brother. And that had been when it was just the two of them, there had been no family, no 'Aunts' back then. And they had still been happy.

So, did he accept this woman as family?

Everything was not okay.

But they were alright.

A few minutes later, she had been kicked out the house, and Mokuba tentatively walked back inside the room.

"Seto?"

"Mokuba…"

He gnawed on his lip. "She wasn't real, was she?"

"No." Seto replied.

Mokuba's eyes could not hide his disappointment, but he smiled anyway. "Oh well. We don't need anyone else anyway! We have everything we need!"

Seto allowed himself a rare smile. "Exactly. I'll be back in one second…" He stood, intending to follow her and made sure she left. He was expecting trouble, and paranoid or not, the fact remained that trouble usually came.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Azreal slipped out of the service just before the end, during the closing prayer. Her head was buzzing, reeling, and whatever was in the wood was still tugging on her senses. She really needed to get out of here and clear her head, and she didn't want to stay and face Well and the others.

She dithered at the gate into the Church yard, wondering weather to go and investigate the woods, or to just get out of there. Her instincts were colliding in a very annoying way. The human side was demanding that she flee, but the Muse side was trying to convince her that the woods was the way to go. It was such a strong pull, even to her weak senses. And, somewhere, in the very corner of her mind, a daring hope was rising that perhaps something in that wood could save her…

"Anna?" Ryou was standing at the outside the low fence, Cassie present as ever at his feet. The boy and his dog might as well have been one entity.

What was _he _doing _here_?

Problem solved, she bolted down the path to find out.

"Isn't it obvious?" He asked in response to her unspoken question as they walked along in no particular direction. "But, I'm walking Cassie."

"I didn't know you walked her all the way out here…"  
Ryou shrugged non-committaly. "Variety, you know… But what about you? I didn't know you were religious." He nodded back in the direction they had come.

"Oh, I'm not… exactly…" She replied, thoughtfully. "I just kind of ended up in there. I'll tell you one thing though…" She stretched, cupping her hands behind her neck as she looked up at the clear summer sky. "They're defiantly onto something, these religious types. I mean, they defiantly have some purpose in their lives, don't you think? Hoping for something, you know?" She shrugged, shaking her head as she lowered her arms. "I don't know what it is exactly, but it's there. They have…something."

Ryou laughed slightly bitterly. "Well, if you ever figure it out, make sure you let me know. If you ever know what 'it' is, feel free to divulge knowledge to the rest of us." He gave that bitter laugh again, quietly, then abruptly changed the subject to the ins and outs of how one would go about making a guitar, if it possible, or just a pleasantly futile task.

Azreal knew perfectly well he was deliberately stopping her from commenting on the pain in his eyes, the withdrawn look, and the heaviness in his steps. It was his way of asking her not to ask him. So she didn't, and the conversation continued in a pleasantly idle fashion until they found a small field of patchy grass and tarmac that passed as the estate's park, and came upon Joey, sitting alone, and bleeding from the corner of his mouth.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Kaho looked at her watch and couldn't help but let out a little sigh. Anna was not the most punctual of people, but she had never been _this _late, not without phoning full of curses and apologies. She had never blown Kaho off like this before.

Oh well. She'd been sitting here long enough. She'd give Anna five more minutes, then she'd go back to her empty home and… do homework. Yeah. She had some Art she needed to be getting on with…

She sighed again, and as it so often did, her mind wandered back to Somewhere and what would have happened if she hadn't had left. Somewhere was the smallest of the five cities, and really made it's money from being a pit stop. Nothing exciting ever happened there. No-one important ever came from there. It just went along at it's dreary little pace, never dreaming of anything more.

But Kaho _had _dreamed of more. She had wanted to learn, to be as educated as possible. She didn't want to go to work as soon as possible, like most. They were all NIPs, anyway, working the docks of things being sent down to the Muses in the field, and brought up to the cities. And she hadn't wanted to go there. But no-one from her town became a Muse. There was hardly even a point in applying.

She had meant to, but she never made it to the entrance exam for the school in Wherever. It was so unfair. Just because she was from a minor city, she had to fight for a place. But she had never gone. She hadn't been able to raise the teleport fare to get there. Her parents didn't help, they thought it was a silly phase. But it didn't matter. She wouldn't have got in anyway.

By the time her parents realised it _wasn't_ just a phase, and were ready to help, she had already arranged her immigration to Earth.

So here she was. In a small bar, in a small suburb of a large city on a small island. Finally daring to have a life other then her studies. She had been happy enough just furthering her education, but she had wanted friends. And she thought she had found that in Anna. She was a good friend, trying to help her figure out what to do after school. She said that if Kaho didn't get a good life for herself, she would personally come back and haunt her till she got herself in gear.

But today, she wasn't here. Kaho took one last look around at the students mingling around her. This was a favourite weekend hangout. The only free seat was really the one she'd been saving for Anna, on their small, two seater table by the window. Kaho glanced out the window, but there was no sign of her. Time to leave…

"Can I sit here?" Some random guy asked.

"Sure." She replied, used to being kicked off tables for people with groups of friends. She stood up to leave.

"Hey, hey, what's the rush?" He asked, grabbing her arm. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

She looked up for the first time and saw who it was. Anna had vaguely introduced her to them all, but she couldn't for the life of her remember his name.

"Oh! It's… Kaho Bijou, right?" He asked, smiling. He never forgot girl's names. He knew them all.

"That's right." She smiled, sitting down. "And you're… um…"

"Allow me to reintroduce myself." He grinned, reaching out to shake her hand. "My name is Duke. As in Devlin."

"Hi." She answered. He considered her in a way that made her feel slightly uncomfortable. "What?"

"I just wondered if you were feeling ill." He said, innocently.

"No, no, I'm fine…" She said, confused.

"Because you're talking to Doctor _Love_!" He persisted.

"What?" Kaho blinked.

"No?" He asked, nodding. "Okay… How about… Are you are a parking ticket?"

"No." Kaho replied, thoroughly bewildered.

"'Cause you've got _fine _written all over you!"

"Pardon?" Kaho screeched, flustered. "What are you talking about?"

"You must be tired." He replied.

"Not really, no…"

"Because you've been walking through my mind all day!"

"How?" Kaho asked, completely lost. "We've only really just met."

"Oh, but I feel like I've known you all my life." He answered, smiling.

"Uh…" Kaho stammered. "Look, I'm flattered, but if you listen a minute-"

"How can I listen when I can't hear over the beating of my heart?" He asked.

Kaho said nothing, dithering between running away or just jumping through the window.

He groaned, slumping down and resting his head on his arms. "I must be losing my touch. I can't even pull you." He looked up, meeting her eye. "Uh, no offence."

"Um, none… none taken…" Kaho stammered. "But what do you mean, losing your touch?"

He rocked his head to the side, indicating the direction of the counter. "See her?" He asked, nodding at one of the girls on the bar stools. "The blond one?"

"She's pretty…" Kaho agreed.

"She's gorgeous." Duke bemoaned. "And she won't even look twice at me."

Kaho blinked in surprise, then understanding. This had been a fairly bewildering conversation so far. "Please, tell me those were _not _pick-up lines before."

"Yeah." Duke affirmed.

"Well…" Kaho sweat-dropped. "That might be the problem. Try talking to her as a _person _before you treat her as an object of affection."

Duke considered her. "You think that would work?"

"Sure." She nodded. "Go for it." _And get out of here…_

He gave a small, nervous smile that didn't suit him, nodded, and made his way over. Kaho watched as he struck up a conversation with the blond girl, hopefully without using a pick-up line.

What a weirdo.

Neither of them knew it, but Duke would call on Kaho quite often over the months that passed, seeking help as he managed to get to know the blond- who turned out to be called Sakura- and as they began dating. No more did they know that during these exchanges, they would gradually get to know each other, and become close friends. And Duke did not know that Sakura would eventually dump him with 'I really like you, Duke, but… I don't think you even know it, but there's someone else you like.'

And then, she would go on to explain that the one he liked had been under his nose all along, but he had never even considered her because of her quiet, studious, nature. At first, Duke did not believe it, but eventually came to realise that it was true. How odd, him, with someone who could be his pole oppisite. But then, Fate had a habit of playing silly buggers with human (and Muse) kind quite often.

However, that was all in the future. Right now, Kaho watched as Duke was invited to sit down next to the blond, and wished him all the luck in the world as she quietly slipped out of the café and headed back to her empty maisonette. Not everyone was as lucky as Azreal- rarely was anyone right first time.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They came to a dead stop for a moment. Joey hadn't noticed them yet.

_"My goodness…" _Ryou muttered under his breath, and Azreal nodded in agreement.

"I didn't realise Joey lived around here…" She whispered, mouth dry as she began to walk over to him.

"Ann, wait!" Ryou begged, but she didn't stop. "Ann! He won't want us to see him like that…"

But it was too late. She was already one her way. So Ryou followed.

Joey was sitting on a bench, staring down at the ground, scuffing it with his feet. He became vaguely aware that there was some legs in front of him. He looked up, seeing Ryou's dog before coming face to face with the guy himself and Anna, both of whom were looking at him in horror.

"It looks worse then it is." He promised, ignoring the way the side of his face and mouth throbbed when he spoke.

"Man, Joey…" Anna said, slumping down on the non-broken part of the bench, and examining his face. "Who?" She asked quietly.

Joey said nothing for a moment, then grinned as best he could with half his face swelling up. "Don't worry. I gave him a black eye." _Unfortunately, _he added mentally _He chucked me out the house for it. _Oh well. He'd just have to go back in the morning- his dad wouldn't remember a thing.

"Your dad." Ryou stated, not sitting down. "Joey… You can't live like this."

"Yeah, well, I don't have a choice, do I?" He demanded. "Besides, stop fussing. I've had a lot worse."

"You shouldn't have to _have _anything!" Anna yelled, upset. Joey stood, angry.

"Yeah, well, the world doesn't work like that." Joey paused to spit some blood out onto the ground, feeling weird about swallowing his own blood. "I don't live in your happy little existence, Anna! In my world, things don't always work out as I want them to! I didn't want my dad to start drinking, and I didn't want my mom to leave, and I didn't want to stay and look after him, but that's what life gave me and that's all I've got!" During this, Anna stood up slowly. She felt too intimidated, sitting down.

"That's not true." Ryou said, calmly, and Joey turned to face him instead. "You can have more then that, if you go out and look. And, by the way, scaring Anna isn't going to help."

"…Ah, what do you know!" Joey yelled at him. "What do you know about dealing with stuff!"

"Hold her." Ryou muttered to Anna, shoving Cassie's lead into her hands.

"But…"

"Just do it!"

"I'm not scaring her!" Joey was continuing. "I'm just telling her the truth! I'm telling her _reality_!"

"But maybe it's _not _the truth…" Ryou tried. "You can change your reality, if you want to. Suffering hurts, but you don't have to let it run the show."

"Shut up!" Joey screamed at him. "Just shut up! Who are you to talk about changing what you have to face! About 'Suffering'! You don't deal with half the stuff we do! While we're all off with Yugi, fighting for the world-not to mention our _lives_- what are you doing! You just lie there and… and sleep! Or you're the one trying to kill us! So don't you dare talk to me about 'suffering'! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Guys…" Anna said, uncertainly, as she saw anger flare up in Ryou's eyes. She'd never seen him mad before… he'd always seemed so mellow…

"I'll forget that comment." Ryou ground out, eventually. "You're just angry. You don't mean that."

Joey growled. "How the hell do you know what I mean and what I don't!" Ryou turned away, but it only made Joey madder. "Don't walk away from me, dammit!" He swung a punch wildly at the back of Ryou's head. Before Azreal could even comprehend this turn of events and yell a warning, Ryou had whirled around and caught Joey's flailing fist easily in his own, cold rage lending him a co-ordination, strength and speed he usually lacked.

"You don't want to fight me, Joey." He said, coldly, as Joey struggled against him, and Anna looked on in horror. "Do you? You're angry. You just want to lash out at the world, don't you, Joey!"

"Ryou, let go and fight me, dammit!" Joey yelled, struggling- but Ryou did not let go, and all Joey succeeded in doing was getting himself pinned, arm behind his back. "Let go of me!"

"I didn't do this." Ryou replied. "You did this to yourself, Joey. I just held on. And that's the problem. You get angry, but your rage is blind. You just want to hurt the nearest person. But if you let it take over, you're not going to get anywhere. You're just going to end up pinned by someone weaker then you."

"What do you know…?" Joey snarled, struggling again. Ryou tightened his grip. "What do you… what do you know…?" The blind rage was fading into a void of emotion.

Ryou laughed. "What do I know? Don't you think I know? Don't you think I understand! You have no idea, do you? Ever been to the Shadow Realm, Joey? It's not fun, I can tell you. Ever been trapped in Limbo, knowing that your other self is trying to kill your friends, but being unable to stop it? Don't you think that hurts! Don't you think it makes me angry that on this day a few years ago, a police man turned up at my door telling me my mother and sister were dead! I can't even go and see the graves, Joey, because I came here to look for my father, and I never found him! Don't you think I get mad?"

Azreal gasped. That was why he had seemed so sad today. She hadn't known… how could she have?

"Ryou, you're hurting him!" Azreal yelled, as Joey tried to pull away again, wincing when Ryou's grip held him firm and wouldn't let him go any further.

"He's hurting himself." Ryou replied, laughing bitterly. "Are you beginning to get it, Joey? Blind rage will get you nowhere! We all get angry, we all get hurt- but you can't let it beat you! There's good times to! So you have to fight it, because it'll only hurt you more!" He seemed sadder then ever, even as he seemed so angry. "I hurt just like you do! But I have to keep smiling anyway! If your friends are the only good thing in your life, don't take the bad stuff out on them! You feel like letting go, but you just have to hold on! I know! I've been there!"

Gradually, Joey stopped struggling and stood still, breathing deeply. "Okay. You can let go now."

"You're not going to turn straight around and punch me in the face?" Ryou checked.

"No. No, I'm not."

"You're back in control?" Ryou demanded. "You're not going to take it out on us?"

"No."

Slowly, Ryou released him and took a step back.

Joey rubbed his wrist. "That's quite a grip." He gave a laugh that wasn't really a laugh.

"It comes from playing the guitar." Ryou replied, wordlessly taking the lead from Anna, who was watching them in horror. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

Joey shook his head. "No, you're right." He sunk back down onto the bench. "Oh, man, Ryou, I'm sorry… You haven't done anything."

Ryou shrugged. "You're hurting."

Joey said nothing for a moment. "It just seems… you know. Why should I complain about my home life, when Yugi… and you, I guess… is going through so much junk everyday?"

"Pain is still painful." Anna piped up. "Weather it's a paper cut or your head dropping off, it's still going to hurt."

They stayed in silence for a while.

"I'm just going to finish school." Joey muttered. "Then… I'm going to go to my mom's. I'm sick of him."

Azreal privately thought that that wasn't soon enough, but didn't try to tell him that. For some reason, she was stupidly thirsty. What she wouldn't give for a drink…

"Kaho!" She yelled suddenly, erupting from the bench and running in the vague direction of the Milk Bar. As they followed, Joey turned to Ryou.

"Look, Ryou…" He said, embarrassed. "I just wanted to say… thanks. I mean, I needed that."

Ryou laughed. "I get the feeling I over-reacted somewhat, and I'm sorry." He looked sad. "You could say you chose a bad day to cross me."

"The day your mom and sis… died, right?"

"Yes." Ryou nodded.

"Man…" Joey muttered. "That's some serious turd, if you'll excuse the imagery."

"Not at all." Ryou laughed. "That's actually quite an accurate way of putting it."

"If Serenity died, I would've gone crazy." Joey confessed. "I mean, look what I was like when it was just her eyes…!"

"Yeah, well…" Ryou shrugged awkwardly. "I came here a little while after. I wanted to find my dad, you see. I mean, I'd never really seen much of him, he was always away on digs, but… Well, he was my only family, and he sent me this-" he tapped the Ring now. "And I half-hoped that he'd know how to stop all the strange stuff it did. He used to own the museum, I think, but I never found him." He laughed bitterly. "Of course, at the time I didn't know what Shadi did to those who disturbed the Items…"

An awkward silence fell.

"So…" Ryou finished. "I built a life here." What Joey didn't know, of course, was that he would be leaving in just over a week, and he couldn't bring himself to tell him. So instead they talked about the fruitlessness of trying to build one's own guitar.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Unsurprisingly, as she was almost three hours late, Kaho was no longer there when Azreal and the other two arrived. She tried to ring her, but Kaho's mobile was turned off, so she sent a text instead. That done, she, Joey, and Ryou slipped onto one of the tables along the walls of the building, each set of sets separated by a pane of stencilled glass, in the design of flowers or birds. Anna and Ryou just got milkshakes. Joey got ice-cream, presumably to soothe his sore face.

Or maybe he just liked ice-cream.

As they talked, Ryou became gradually aware that Azreal was very quiet, not even slurping her milkshake like she normally did. Joey picked up on it to, and then, in the silence, they became aware of what was bothering her. She was sitting in front of a partition with lilies stencilled on it, and voices were gradually floating over. It appeared they were talking about Seto, and they didn't have anything nice to say.

"…pathetically obsessed with that gremlin kid!" One girl was saying. "And, yeah, don't even get me started on that _cow_ he drags around with him!"

Azreal finished her drink, and clenched the glass hard in her hand, not looking up.

"I'm just surprised that Mr Better-then-Thou got his head out of his backside long enough to think _anyone_ was good enough for him, let alone that freak of a girlfriend!"

"Maybe she has _her _head up there instead!" One girl suggested spitefully, and they all laughed hysterically.

Her face was looking down, but it was fairly obvious the emotion of the day had gotten to her and she was crying silently.

"Right…" Joey growled, standing up. It was one thing to insult Kaiba, but another entirely to talk about his friends like that.

"Wait." Ryou said, placing a hand on his arm and walking off himself. "I'll go."

"Ryou, no, it's not worth the bother." Anna hissed at him, tears of embarrassment and hurt still in her eyes as the laughter continued behind her and the statements got even more insulting.

"Don't worry." Ryou gave a happy little wave as he stood up fully, picking up his glass. "I'll be nice. Let's just say I've met this lot before. May I sit here?" He asked whoever was behind her. Azreal resisted the urge to watch over the partition, but she listened anyway, wiping the wetness off her face, and trying not to sniff too loudly. Joey sat, blinking, wondering what on Earth Ryou was going to pull.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Sonomi couldn't believe it when Ryou, the object of her affections for so long, walked over to them, carrying a drink.

"May I sit here?" He asked, smiling politely at her. "All the other seats are full…"

Sonomi stared blankly. This couldn't be real. No way could this be real…

"Sure, go ahead." Her friend, Christina, said from across the way, saving her. Sonomi composed herself, but didn't know what to say, so she just nodded, unable to speak.

He sat down next to her, sipping from his drink.

When he realised no-one was saying anything, he smiled round at them. "Oh, sorry. Don't mind me, just continue with your conversation as though I wasn't here." He sipped at his drink again, but still no-one spoke.

"Um, we were just talking about…" Minako cast around for something that wouldn't make them look bad. "The other day when… um…"

Ryou smiled. "I believe, if I heard correctly, you were insulting Seto Kaiba."

They gawped at him. Inside, Sonomi wept. Ryou was so nice to everyone, he was surely going to hate her now…

He laughed quietly. "By all means, continue. As for Mr. Kaiba… I shall decline to comment."

They looked at him in surprise. They had thought Ryou could like _anyone_. But, naturally, he hadn't finished yet.

"After all, if I do comment, I may inadvertedly insult one of my friends." He pointed over his shoulder. "I mean, Joey refuses to hear that Kaiba had any redeeming features."

"What about your other friends?" Sonomi asked, curious. She hoped he didn't have a girl. She knew his old girlfriend dumped him a while back, but had he got another one yet…?

"Oh, I think at least one of them rather likes him." Ryou replied, innocently. "I mean, she's dating the guy."

The colour drained from all the faces around the table.

"I believe you know Anna Mitsan." He continued, with something that could almost be called a smirk. "The one allegedly spending time with her head in places I doubt she'd want it."

"Bakura, I'm sorry, I didn't realise-" Sonomi began.

"Oh, that's perfectly fine." Ryou waved it away. "I mean, they have names for people like you. I choose not to use them in public, but rest assured they are more then sufficient." He swallowed the last of his drink and stood up. For the first time, traces of anger crept into his voice. "Well, my friends and I have things to do. Goodbye!"

He began to walk off, and, taking the hint, Joey and Anna hurried after him, waving at the table as they passed it.

Outside, Ryou was patiently waiting for them, Cassie's lead back at home in his hand. She wagged her tail enthusiastically on sight of them.

"You're a great guy, you know that?" Anna smiled, though her eyes still looked sad.

"People don't deserve your tears." Ryou replied shortly. "Those who do wouldn't make you cry."

Azreal nodded. "I guess you're right…"

Suddenly, Joey grabbed the slightly shorter boy round the neck, while Azreal watched in bewilderment. "Ah, Ryou, you better not be making moves on Kaiba's girlfriend!" He laughed.

Ryou chocked, and not just because of the arm round his neck.

"I'm just kidding." Joey laughed. "Honestly, man, you are kicking some butt today! I didn't understand half the words you used, but it _sounded _cool! And it worked! So kudos- you're on fire today!"

"Well…" Ryou replied, pulling away and massaging his neck. "I guess it's just that kind of day. No-one's themselves."

"What, a hot and sunny one?" Joey asked.

"No." Anna shook her head. "I think he means days where the air is humid and heavy, weighing down on heart and mind."

"Um… exactly…" Ryou blinked.

"Right." Joey responded. "Let's just pretend I understood that and be on our way."

"Well, I'm gonna head up to Seto's…" Anna said when they got a little further away.

"Will the workaholic be there?" Joey asked. She shrugged.

"Probably not." She smiled. "But the PS2 will be, and seeing as I haven't gotten around to buying _Soul Calibre _for my Gamecube yet…"

"Ah, I see." Ryou laughed. "In that case, Joey and I will go and bother Yugi!"

"Why Yugi?" Anna asked.

"Because he lives nearest and is also most likely to have a functioning freezer." Ryou rolled his eyes, pointing at Joey's swelling face.

So, they parted laughing- as much as you can with one cheek slowly becoming the size of a tennis ball.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Kaho added the final dab of paint, and, sighing happily as she admired her work, rubbed her forehead. Standing up, she caught sight of herself in the mirror, and saw what a mess she was, paint everywhere- all over her arms and forehead. So she went to wash up, both the paint pots and herself.

Walking back into her room, drying her hands on a towel, she went to turn her phone back on. After all, she hadn't wanted it to interrupt her during her work. She was popular today, with two new messages. One was an apology from Azreal, saying it was too complicated to explain in a text and that she'd tell her tomorrow, and the other was Duke, telling her he had successfully asked Sakura- who she assumed to be the blond- out, and did she have any ideas on where he should take her?

Kaho blinked at the message. How on Earth and in The Floating Cities had he got her number…?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal arrived at the Kaiba Mansion, just in time to smack into a woman walking away.

"Oh, sorry…" Azreal began, looking up to see who she had bumped into. It was an adult woman, glaring down at her. She had to be at least twice her age, but she was still pretty, with long brown hair, a colour that reminded her of something she couldn't place, and ice blue eyes, glaring down at her without kindness. With a jolt, Azreal realised she had been on the end of a very similar look before, more then once, when she had first met Seto… That look of disgust, just from seeing her…

"What are you staring at?" The woman demanded. "You better not try anything, because I am _not _in the mood!"

Azreal blinked at the sneer in her voice, that had once been so familiar to her…

"And _you'd _better not try anything!" Seto yelled from the front steps. "Get out of here, and don't darken my doorway again!"

The woman huffed, flipped the finger at Seto, cursed, and stormed off.

Azreal looked at Seto, raising her eyebrows.

Seto shrugged, but he wasn't glaring at her, he was smiling, and when he spoke, it was with a bizarre kind of twisted laughter, not a sneer.

"_Long _story."

Azreal walked up to him, and he used his foot to hold the door open for her. As she walked past him to go into the mansion, however, he grabbed her hand.

"What?" She asked, unable to stop herself smiling.

"Nothing." He smirked.

"Are you going to let me into the house then?" She tried.

"Um…" He pretended to consider. "No. Think I'll leave you to rot out here." The smirk widened.

Azreal rolled her eyes. She didn't know who that woman was, but one thing was certain: There was only one Seto.

"You'll have to let go of my arm, then, or you'll have to rot with me." She pointed out, trying to pull away, but failing miserably.

"That doesn't sound so bad."

"Seth…!" She growled, and, at last, he laughed and released her, going into the house.

"You always cheer me up." He commented.

"It's not on purpose, I assure you." Azreal replied, grumpily. "You _deserve _to rot."

"You say that," Seto said, in a mock-wise tone. "But you'd miss me if I was gone. What would you do if I was knocked down by a car, eh?"

"Reverse." Azreal shot back, laughing.

Seto snorted. "I give up. I _try _to be romantic and you…"

"Oh shush." Azreal interrupted, tiredly, coming close. "Of course I'm going to miss you."

After that, Seto was a little too… distracted… to be paying attention to grammar. Later her use of 'going to' would bother him, but it would be sufficiently later for him to simply believe that he had misheard.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"When do you leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. Although, saying that, it's sufficiently early in the morning to make me leave for the airport tonight."

"Oh."

G&T class still seemed oddly quiet without the band 'jamming' in the corner, and she was still almost surprised when Ryou slumped down next to her, like he had at first. But, naturally, this would be the last time. It was the last day of school before summer, and, coincidently, Ryou's last day in Domino. So far, Azreal had managed to keep her promise and not tell the others, but it was really getting hard…

"When are you going to tell them?" She demanded. "Ryou, you can't leave without saying goodbye!"

Ryou shrugged, and didn't speak for a moment. When he did, it wasn't what Azreal wanted to hear. "Look, Ann, I appreciate you're trying to help- but I don't want to make a big thing about leaving."

"Yes, but, you should _tell _them, or they'll be upset…" She pleaded.

"I'll send them all an E-mail or something to explain." He promised. "But, look, just don't worry about it. You just get up tomorrow, go on holiday, and have fun. By the time you get back, it'll all be sorted. You won't have to do anything." She looked down. "Anna, please. I know you don't agree, but it's my decision." He gave a lop-sided smile. "So no arguing! Please, respect that."

"Mmm…" She sighed.

He nodded. "Thanks."  
She straightened up, knowing it was useless to argue. "At any rate, I assume you've come to some sort of decision. What are you going to do?"

"Like we discussed." Ryou replied, sounding definite. "Ollie and Seb are waiting for me, and once I've landed at Heathrow I'll take the Tube up to Stoke and I'll go and stay with them. You know, till I'm sorted. I've already applied at a college, and I'll start there in September." He half-shrugged. "And that's about the grand plan. Except tonight… well, I'll go back to the flat, get Cassie, and take her on a long walk. I want to around town one more time before I leave. Then I guess I'll send that E-mail, lock up, and leave."

Anna nodded, though inside she was upset. Ryou may not have known it, but by the time he came back, she'd be gone. And she'd miss Ryou just as much as all the others- if it was possible to miss someone from beyond the grave. But it just melted her brain to think about it. So she dragged it back to the present, and what Ryou was trying to say to her.

"…of Cassie," He said. "I wanted to ask you… a favour."

"Huh?" Anna blinked intelligently. "What about her?"

"It's just…" He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I was going to take her with me, but- well, it's cruel. She's old, I don't know if she'd survive the flight."

"I thought you didn't have the heart to take her back to the dog home." Anna still wasn't cottoning on.

"I don't." Ryou sighed. "And even if I did, I wouldn't have time to take her tonight. That's what I'm asking you, Anna. She loves you, and I just wondered if you'd take care of her."

Anna blinked in surprise, and he continued hastily.

"No, no, I don't mean permanently, of course, I just wondered if you could keep her tonight… I mean, I know I shouldn't dump this on you so suddenly, but really, I know you'd see to it she found a good home!"

Anna hesitated, but then, nodded as the bell rang.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"We know you know something!" Téa yelled, as they backed Azreal up against the janitor's shed after school that day. "I'll ask you one more time… _What is up with Ryou!_"

"…And I'll tell you one more time!" Anna shot back. "Nothing! Geez!"

"You _have _been whispering with him an awful lot recently, Ann…" Yugi pointed out. Azreal blanched. Of course she had, she'd been helping him make decisions all the time!

"And that means that either something's bothering him…" Joey added, sneakily. He knew how to get an answer out of her. "Or that you're two-timing Seto. Which is it!"

She hesitated, and then glared. "That's blackmail, and you know it. Now I need to confess to one or the other!"

"Then do it." Tristan smirked. "Which one is it?"

For a moment, Anna just glared, then her resolve broke, and she slumped against the shed.

"He made me promise not to tell you?" She tried, weakly.

"Aha!" Duke yelled. "So something really _is _bothering him!"

"Yes…" Anna got a funny look in her eye. "And I'd really love to tell you, but, as I say, he made me promise not to say anything about him moving back to England tonight."

They stared at her in horror, and she smiled, half-laughing, half bitterly. "Oops-a-daisy. Freudian slip, you know."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou slid his key into the lock for what could be a final time. Even Cassie seemed more subdued tonight. Perhaps it was just because of the long walk- to all his favourite places, to everywhere that provoked memories- but somehow, he thought it was more then that. Perhaps she picked up on his mood…

As he entered, he slowly, listlessly, walked into the small front room. It didn't look too much different, as most of his furniture and general utensils were being left behind. After all, Olivia and Seb would have everything he'd need in their house, and it would cheaper just to buy new stuff then to pay to have it shipped out anyway. The flat looked pretty much like it's normal self, enough so to convince himself that perhaps he was not leaving at all.

But he _was _leaving, and no matter how much he'd miss the place, and his friends, it was time to go. He'd come here, looking for his father, and acceptance. He had found it. Now it was time to go back and find what he'd lost along the way.

The first thing to do, however, was to send that E-mail. He'd invested in a Laptop not long ago, when he'd known this was coming. He'd sold his desktop to pay for half of the ticket to England. Air fare was getting cheap nowadays…

His luggage was sitting in the hall, along with his hand baggage, guitar case, and the laptop. He picked it up, walked into the main room, and sunk down into the sofa.

He wasn't expecting it to say 'Ow' in a decidedly female voice.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They had heard Ryou approaching the flat, and had all grabbed hiding places. He was going to regret ever telling Azreal where he kept his spare keys. At any rate, he was a little earlier then expected, and there was a mad rush for all the best hiding places. At the sound of the key in the lock, Azreal found herself still standing in full view in the middle of the floor, with nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide.

Except, maybe…

Praying that her Musing powers hadn't given out just yet, Azreal leapt under the sofa.

Unfortunately, when Ryou sat down on what was effectively her head, she couldn't help but let out a small 'Ow'.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou leapt off his suddenly possessed sofa in alarm. Predictably enough, a moment later, Azreal slid out of the gap that was much too small for her, between the sofa and the floor, grinning sheepishly.

"Um… Surprise?" She tried.

On this que, rolling their eyes, the others appeared. Joey fell out of a cupboard, a mound a brightly coloured balloons tumbling out with him. Téa and Duke appeared from the direction of the kitchen, with trays piled high with hastily donated food. Yugi popped up from behind the sofa Azreal had hidden underneath, bending down slightly to touch a switch. Instantly, the room was filled with the soft glow of multi-coloured fairy lights. Tristan came out from behind the drawn curtains, laughing- how Ryou had failed to notice that, he didn't know- revealing the streamers they'd hung at the windows. Finally, from the stark room that used to house Ryou's bedroom, all his ex-band members trooped in, grinning. Ryou noted that the base guitar was also present, and Matt had swiped his guitar somewhere along the way, and, smiling, held it out to him.

Oh, no.

"Wha… What?" Ryou asked weakly, sinking cautiously back into the sofa. When it didn't yell at him again, he sat down fully.

"I think it's fairly obvious that it's goodbye party." Téa rolled her eyes, and waved a finger at him. "Not that you deserve one! Fancy not planning on telling us!"

Ryou shot Azreal a look.

"I'm sorry!" Azreal tried. "I didn't mean to! They cornered me, and…" She grabbed a random dish of the table and waved. "Look! I brought cheese puffs!"

Ryou tried, he really, really, did, but he couldn't help but laugh. Taking advantage of this 'blessing', Téa hit play on the CD player she had brought- Ryou's was packed up- and instantly, music blared.

Ryou shook his head. "How did I ever think I could get away unnoticed…?" He wondered. "I am going to miss you all, but… I have to go, I think."

"That's okay." Yugi put in. "We're not going to try and change your decision. Okay, so we don't really know the reasoning- but…"

"But," Téa continued, "If that's what you want, we're behind you all the way!"

"…Thanks, you guys."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Some time later, but all too soon, not only had the party ended, it had been tidied up, and everyone was trooping out for the last time for a while.

"Well, I guess this is it." Greg smiled, shaking his hand. "You make sure you get another band, okay!"

"I'll try." Ryou promised, as the ex-band left.

"It's been real!" Craig yelled over his shoulder.

Matt, never being one of very many words, simply waved and stalked off down the stairs, leaving only Ryou's 'original' friends, and Azreal.

Téa looked at her watch. "Are you sure you don't want us to come to the airport?" She checked. Ryou shook his head.

"No, it's alright. You'll be out even later then it is now. Besides, no need to prolong goodbyes."

"I guess…" She replied, hugging him. When she pulled away, she had an odd smile on her face. "Put your hand out."

Shaking his head in exasperation, Ryou did so. At a look from Téa, and with some over-exaggerated sighs, Tristan, Duke, Joey, and Yugi all put their hands in to. Azreal gawped at them.

"You to, Anna!" Téa yelled cheerfully, grabbing her hand and putting it with the others. "Or the circle will be incomplete!" She pulled a marker out of her pocket.

"Whoa, whoa!" Azreal yelled as the pen made it's way round the circle, coming ever closer to her. "What is this?"

Téa just laughed, and hugged Ryou again. "On that note, I guess it's time to say goodbye…" She said, sadly. "Bye, Ryou! Don't forget us!"

"How could I?" Ryou teased. "That ink _never _comes off…"

Laughing, Téa waved and left, Yugi with her.

Awkwardly, Tristan and Duke said their goodbyes, and left to.

"What is the significance of this?" Anna asked, examining the pen on her hand.

"It's a friendship symbol." Joey laughed. "You know. An Unbreakable bond, ect. ect. All that stuff that's purely 'Téa'."

"Geez…" Anna sighed. "This better come off. My dad's going to think I joined a cult or something…Well," She said awkwardly. She was not a hugging person like Téa. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Count on it." Ryou replied mechanically, waving as she left to.

As soon as she was gone, Joey folded his arms.

"You wanted to talk to me?" He asked.

"Yes." Ryou nodded, holding something out him.

"What's this…?" Joey asked, looking down at the set of keys.

"The keys to my flat." Ryou replied. Joey looked at his quizzically. "I had spent pretty much my entire inheritance on it, and it seemed a shame to sell it."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Joey asked, eyes narrowed.

"Take it." Ryou shrugged. "It's not much, but it's gotta be better then where you live at the moment. Don't tell anyone, just stay there till you finish school, and then stick to your original plan and go back to your family, okay?"

Joey considered it for a moment, then held the keys back out to Ryou. "I can look after myself." He snorted, annoyed. "I'm no charity case."

"And neither am I." Ryou pointed out. "Look, I'm more the aware that you can look after yourself. But you shouldn't have to look after _him_. So just do yourself a favour, and clear out. Changing your luck, remember?"

Joey stared down at the keys, thinking it through. This is what Ryou had been worried about- his pride getting in the way of what he wanted deep down.

Eventually, after an extremely long wait, Joey curled his hand round the keys. "Okay." He said, simply.

"Good." Ryou smiled, picking up his cases. They began to walk towards the stairs.

"Anna was right." Joey laughed. "You really are a nice person, aren't you?"

"That's what they tell me." Ryou smirked.

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A/N: _(Brain melts) _That was 23 and a half pages long, people! Maybe that's why it took so long… I think the most interesting part was Duke and Kaho:D Anyways, join me next time- it's the camping trip, and there's more fluff then you can shake a stick at!


	22. Wishing on a Star

A/N: Whee for late updates... Whee for busy weekends... you know how it goes. Thanks, as always to **Dragonlady222, **and I have one or two things to bring to your attention, but I'll do it at the end... And now, Britian, A lot of Mokuba, s'mores, water fights, and general camping fun!

Twenty: Wishing on a Star

"_Sir… sir, wake up_."

The white haired teen shifted slightly in his seat, hair crackling against the small window he was sat next to. He'd been asleep for most of the flight. The stewardess was actually rather concerned about him, and had been keeping an eye on him. He had boarded alone, and no-one had been there to see him off. He didn't seem too bothered though, throwing only the smallest glance at the country he was about to leave behind. Throughout the entire flight, he had merely looked out the window as the clouds fell away and watched as the sun replaced the stars. Somewhere over Turkey he had fallen asleep, and slept solidly even through the food, movies, and the stop in Spain. That was why the stewardess was worried. He was obviously all alone, and to be that exhausted…

He shifted again, this time blinking and sitting up straight.

"_You'll need to put your seat belt back on now_." She informed him, smiling. "_We're about to land_."

"_Oh… thank you_." Ryou nodded back, his native language unfamiliar on his tongue. He strapped himself in, smiling slightly. So, they were about to land.

And in just a few moments, he'd step off the plane and, once again, into a fresh start- but this time, back where it all began.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

As they manovered over yet another bump in the road, Azreal looked up into the sky, as blue as any of then could have wished for. Absently scratching Cassie's ears, as the dog lay over her lap, her thoughts turned to her old owner. _Somewhere up there, _she thought _Ryou's flying. In fact, he must be almost there by now… It's a thirteen hour flight, I think- we've been driving all day, so… And speaking of being nearly there…_

"Just a few more minutes." Ruby promised, as James asked, yet again, how far away they were.

Azreal laughed. "Yeah, and it should have been a few minutes ago, _dad_." The roads had long since given away to winding lanes, and Doug had managed to, not only take a wrong turn, but also loose Seto along the way.

"Hey!" Doug pouted. "No back seat driving! Besides, we weren't lost! We just didn't know where we were!"

"Sure, dad, sure…"

"Hmmph." He hit play on the CD player, and, had Seto been in the car, it would have been immediately obvious to him as to where Azreal got her taste in music as The Who continued to sing for the rest of the journey.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"Maybe you should phone them?" Mokuba suggested as they watched the thin trail.

The arrangement had been simple enough in theory but apparently not in practise, as it hadn't worked. The idea was that, as Doug had the smaller car, he'd carry as many people as he could, and Seto would follow him with all the luggage and Mokuba in his. Well, it had worked to a point, then on one of the roads, Doug had got down okay, but Seto had come to face to face with a tractor. He had then had to reverse all the way back up the road and then go back down- and by that point, Doug had naturally disappeared. But, he wouldn't be Seto if he hadn't managed to find the camp site anyway.

Only problem was, Doug hadn't arrived yet. So, he had checked them in, and he and Mokuba had started to set up. And finished. And Doug still hadn't shown up.

"There they are!" Mokuba yelled suddenly, as a car came into view.

Seto carefully watched Azreal as she caught sight of where they were saying, and then smiled when she gasped in delight. Indeed, it was easy to see why it provoked that reaction.

Just as Azreal had said, the pitch was right on the front of a huge lake. All around were dense, hilly woods; and side of the lake curved up into what was almost a cliff. At this time in the afternoon, the sun was high, causing all the trees to be mirrored so well in the crystal water that they seemed solid. A slight breeze, however, shattered the illusion as the water rippled and curved. And behind it, Azreal saw, Seto and Mokuba had set the entire camp up- all four tents, and the small cover with a table beneath it.

"Wow!" She yelled, climbing out the car, and running over to them both. "How long did it take you to set all this up?"

"About forty-five minutes." Seto replied, grinning in spite of himself. The excitement in the air was contagious.

"Wow." Azreal repeated.

"Hey!" Seto protested. "I've never done it before!"

"Uh, actually, I thought that was kinda fast…"

"Oh…"

"You really can do anything, can't you?" Azreal laughed, looking around the camp.

"…Just about." Seto smirked.

It was then that Doug called him over, and they hit the second hitch of the day.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Ryou placed his suitcases down at his feet, and removed the guitar case from his back, studying the board. His watch was set back to local time, but it would take a while for his body and mind to adjust in the same way. Thankfully, he hadn't forgotten how to read as he scrutinised the notice, with an imbedded clock and time table.

**WELCOME TO LONDON'S HEATHROW**

_**ENJOY YOUR STAY!**_

_**Local Time: 06:42**_

**Tube Trains Available:**

Scanning down the time table, Ryou located the route he wanted. It was a long ride into Stoke, so even if he managed to catch the next one- the 0703- he wouldn't arrive till about one in the afternoon. Sighing, he picked up his bags again. He still had a long way to go before he was truly home.

Still, he did not want to go straight into the airport's tube links. As he made his way across the crowded airport towards the station, the dawn outside was alluring. He had never been to London…

Ryou changed route. It didn't get any more British then London, surely. He'd catch up with the train at Paddington.

As he stepped out of the airport, he saw something that made him realise he was most, undoubtedly, back in England. It was not the peak of Big Ben on the horizon, or the knowledge that he was only a few miles away from Buckingham Palace. Nor was it the Thames, meandering through the city. No, across the road, there was a small café, full to the brim with weary travellers like himself. And, he could see through the window, in the gaps that were not covered with old 'back the bid' posters, tea was being served. Not herbal tea, not tea with any ritualistic or healing properties, just a cup of ordinary, brown tea.

Ryou laughed to himself. Yup, he was most defiantly back in the land of tea, crumpets, rain, and letters of complaint. In a strange kind of way, he'd missed it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

"You forgot the food." Azreal echoed in disbelief.

"I put everything in the car that was there." Seto insisted.

"No, no, I meant _him_." She sighed, pointing at her dad.

Doug laughed. "Oops. I _knew _I'd forgotten something." He turned back towards the car. "Well, there's nothing for it! I'll have to go back and get it!"

"It's almost four o'clock now…" Azreal pointed out. "We were driving for, what, six hours? You'll never get home and back in a day, let alone now."

"Mmm." Doug sighed, then perked up. "Then I guess we'll have to drive into town and go shopping! Yeah!"

Ruby sighed as her husband strode over to the car. "I'd better go with him, or he'll forget what he went for… What a way to start the holiday…" She turned to them. "Well, no point you kids coming with us. Stay here and explore the area a bit, okay? And Anna, just look after James, okay?"

"Yessir!" Anna yelled, making a mock salute and rolling her eyes. "You kidding? I don't think he'll venture six foot away from Mokuba."

It was true. James seemed to like the younger Kaiba very much. Or maybe Mokuba was just good with little kids. At any rate, he was biting his lip in concentration as, a few metres away, Mokuba was teaching him how to play Ro-Sham-Bo. Anna was slightly amazed, for they'd been doing it ever since they'd arrived. No-one had ever been able to keep James' attention for that long…

As soon as the car was out of sight, Anna cheered.

"Whooo! Well, let's explore! C'mon, let's go into the woods first!"

Seto laughed. "Someone's excited…"

"Oh, it's all an act." Anna lied, not deterred for a moment. "Anyways, let's go! Party, move out!"

With that, she ran off in the direction of where the grass gave way to trees, a old black dog at her heels, with the two younger brothers quickly taking up the chase with whoops of excitement, and her boyfriend chuckling as he brought up the rear. It was sort of nice to see everyone so excited over what was effectively a bunch of trees, caught up in the moment.

"Come on, Seto!" Mokuba yelled at him, before he and James disappeared into the shadow of the trees.

So he went.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

At first, his eyes not accustomed to the gloom of the trees, Seto could not see the others. But he could hear them.

"Ouch!" Mokuba,

"See?" Azreal demanded. "Now, come here…"

"No!"

"You want to leave half your head in the woods?"

"You'll never get me!"

Rolling his eyes, Seto ploughed forward to see what was going on, and was shortly passed by Mokuba, dodging through the trees and looking panicked. He saw Seto, and, a moment later, hid behind him. He was making a odd noise somewhere between a whine and a giggle as he spoke.

"Seto! She's crazy!"

Azreal was now advancing slowly towards them, Cassie and James in tow, and looked at Seto. "Will you tell him!" She said.

"Uh…" Seto was not entirely sure of what was going on, but it was best to agree. "Mokuba! Don't call her crazy!"

"But she _is…_" Mokuba whined. "She wants me to tie up my hair!"

Seto raised an eyebrow, and Azreal shrugged, waving what was, as her hair was still tied up, presumably a spare hair bobble.

"His hair keeps getting caught on trees, and we've only been in the woods five seconds." She explained, folding her arms. "If he'd just let me tie it back…"

"I'd look like a girl!" Mokuba protested.

"You always have!" Anna laughed, teasing him.

Seto decided to settle it all. "It's alright, Mokuba." He said smoothly. "You don't have to tie it back. We'll just go to the barber tomorrow and he can cut it all off."

"Seto!" Mokuba screamed, curling his arms protectively over his head. "Why is everyone picking on my hair today…?"

"Hah!" Somewhere during the conversation, Anna had snuck up behind him and now, with vicious precision, she wrapped his hair up in the bobble. "There." She smirked, satisfied. "Don't even think about taking it out!" She warned Mokuba as he fiddled mournfully with his now-ponytail. "Or I shall personally cut off _all _your hair and suffocate you with it. Now," She smiled serenely. "Let's go this way!" She ran off into the woods.

Mokuba looked up at Seto who shrugged and plunged after her.

"Well…" Mokuba looked down at his two companions. "I guess I can get my revenge later…" They blinked up at him. He didn't know what he was expecting. One was a dog and the other a rather quiet four year old. Not exactly masters of conversation… Oh well. He shrugged just as his brother had, and the three followed on.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

Gasping for breath, Azreal stopped at the top of the hill, glaring as Seto drew up without even breaking a sweat. Seto decided not to comment, looking around him instead as Mokuba, James, and Cassie all arrived.

"We're right on the summit." He noted, as Anna straightened up. They had followed the edge of the woods around, and always upward, and had now arrived on a grassy peak, surrounded by steep slopes on two sides. One was clear for all except a few small trees, sloping gently down to the lake, not far at all from the camp. If you were to swim out to the centre of the lake, you could easily climb up to here. To the right was the slope, within the trees, that they had climbed, and to the left was a more steep slope going down towards the town, a few matchboxes in the distance. Behind them was the steepest slope of all, which the others were now examining.

"Wow, that's practically vertical…" Azreal gasped in wonder, looking.

"It's some kind of valley." Mokuba realised. Indeed it was, and the sides were both so steep that part way down the trees clinging to either side had formed a solid roof of leaves, so you couldn't see to the bottom at all. "I wonder how far down it is…?"

"I wouldn't recommend trying to find out." Seto commented, catching sight of movement down on the camp. "It looks like they've returned."

Anna came and stood next to him, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. "Oh yeah…We'd better go back." She sighed, but then brightened. "Hey, I know! Dad said he came here as a boy, so maybe he knows a way down into the valley!"

And so, with as much enthusiasm as ever, she began to run back. As they filed out, Seto took another look down at the lake.

It really was quite beautiful…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"A valley in the woods?" Doug repeated thoughtfully, once they'd finished dinner and were piling up firewood. That night, and that night only, they were allowed to have an authentic camp fire using the fallen branches from the wood. It was an offer to good to turn down. "Oh, up by that peak?" He pointed towards the summit they'd been standing on, silhouetted against the almost-set sun. Mokuba nodded. "I don't recall ever finding a way down. In fact, if I remember rightly, not even we were stupid enough to attempt to climb down." He admitted. "Sorry, kids."

Mokuba sighed in disappointment. "Oh. I wanted to see what was down there…"

"Maybe you'll find a way." Doug replied quietly, eyes twinkling. The fact was, he _had _been down there, but it was something they'd have to discover for themselves. "Anyway, I think that's enough wood now!" They all, except Seto, cheered. He just smiled.

"Now we can have a real campfire!" Anna declared. "I've never seen one before… Not much wood going spare on a floating city…"

"Oh, you have to light it first." Doug told her. "Can't have an authentic camp fire without it being lit authentically! And while you're doing that…" He gestured to the others. "We'll go and see if we can find the tap. It's supposed to be attached to the toilet and shower block, wherever that is…"

As they walked back up the road, Seto remained behind, watching as Anna stared in dismay at the pile of wood.

"You're not going to get it burning like that." Seto commented, smirking.

"Oh shush." She shot back. "I'm going to find some flint…" She stalked off towards the lake edge in search for the stones. Seto did not go to help. He got the feeling this was something Anna wanted to do for herself.

Unfortunately, when she returned with the two stones, Seto instantly felt sorry for her. They were uneven and badly shaped, not to mention wet. The likely hood of her getting a spark of any note out of them was small to none.

Seto watched as she struggled, scraping the stones together, for some time. After a few minutes, she got the tiniest spark out of them, bringing a cry of delight from her lips, but it got no further. As the wood refused to take light, she grew more and more frustrated, the joy turning sour and to curses on her lips. Almost twenty minutes later, as the rest of the group was returning, she still hadn't got anywhere.

"This is useless." Anna sighed miserably.

"Don't give up." Seto tried, coming and kneeling next to her. "You can get it."

"No I can't." She insisted, standing up and turning to throw the rocks into the lake. In that moment, Seto could stand it no more, and as she looked the other way, he pulled a cigarette lighter out of his pocket, shoving his hand into the pile and desperately hoping it would work. He hadn't taken up smoking, but if life had taught him anything, it was to be prepared.

The wood glowed red, and the smallest flame appeared. Seto withdrew his hand, smiling.

"It's impossible." Anna continued, raising her hand to toss the rocks away.

"Az, wait!" Seto said, catching her arm. "Look!" She knelt down next to him, to see where he was pointing. "I think I see a flame in there…"

"It is…" She echoed in disbelief. "It is! I did it! Yes!" She leapt to her feet, grinning all over her face. "Those crummy rocks actually did it!"

"Congratulations." Seto smiled, and, elated, she hugged him. Over her shoulder, the rest of the fire catching light behind them, Seto saw Doug watching them. The look on his face told Seto the man had seen what he'd done. He felt a stab of concern. If Az found out, she would be mad at him…

But, instead, Doug just smiled, and gave a nod. Seto didn't know whether he was thanking him, or accepting him, or something else entirely, but he nodded back. Azreal released him, and, when the fire was going well and it was fully dark, Anna decided it was most defiantly the best time for ghost stories, and they all sat around to hear.

Seto was intrigued as to exactly what kind of story, and how well, Az would tell. He knew she wasn't much of a mathematician, but was she a storyteller…?

"The silence was odd and muffled, as though it would close in on you and swallow you whole, but he liked it that way." Was the opening sentence. "It was familiar to him, the sound of silence was almost comforting, like a half-forgotten memory of a distant childhood. Out here, surrounded by this silence, there was nothing to distract him from his work." She paused slightly, smiling in the fire light, before launching into the next paragraph. "He shifted his weight slightly, disturbing the twigs beneath his feet. From his new position, he could see up through the thick, twisting branches of the trees that stood all around him, up to the swirling mists above. Lira smiled in satisfaction. While the clouds still obscured the moon, he had time to prepare."

The character in the story was not the only one to smile in satisfaction. Seto smirked as soon as he heard the name of the guy in the story. Knowing Azreal, he would have some sort of come-uppance in the tale she weaved.

Seto sat back and let the words wash over him, being absorbed into the story of a werewolf, it's hunter, and a small village named Li'anon.

"The villagers inhabiting Li'anon are careful to warn their children of the woods that lie near by, always over looking the small village in it's glaring way. Those foolish enough to wander within it's labyrinth of boughs rarely come back out again." Azreal was informing them. Seto noticed Mokuba throw a nervous glance at the woods behind them, and hoped she wasn't about to scare them all too badly. "But this was Lira's job. This was what he was hired- no, born- to do…"

Seto decided to give his full attention. This sounded as though it could get interesting…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"'I am not exactly what you would call a man…' He said, as his pupils dilated and fangs grew from his mouth, tearing gashes into his chin, the blood turning black even as it fell." Azreal's voice dropped to a whisper. "'And, Hunter, you never did ask _which _God…'"

Silence fell.

"Is that it?" Mokuba asked, uncertainly.

"Yup." Azreal replied, stretching.

"What? But you can't end it _there_…" Mokuba groaned. "I mean, did he survive, or get eaten, or what?"

"You'll decide for yourself." Azreal refused to be shaken. "I'm not making any more up. Imagine some daring escape, if you like. Or let him get eaten." She shrugged, catching Seto's eye and grinning. Seto smirked back. Both knew what ending _they'd _like to give him… "Anyways, who's going to top that one?"

"Um, maybe that's not a good idea…" Ruby said, uncertainly throwing a glance at James, who, to his credit, didn't look too bothered, and was sitting near the fire with Cassie. She sent him to bed anyway, in the tent he was sharing with Mokuba.

"How are we supposed to top that anyway?" Seto asked, laughing. "It would take me hours to come up with even a short story like that."

Azreal rubbed her elbow and studied the ground, as though that would somehow make her blush slightly less noticeable. "Thanks."

"It has to be time for s'mores!" Doug declared suddenly, pulling a bag of marshmallows seemingly out of nowhere and brandishing them happily. "I even got sticks, so we don't have to worry about finding them to make our s'mores!"

"What on Earth…" Seto began.

"And in the Floating Cities-" Azreal put in.

"Is a _s'more_?" They finished together.

"You two are so ignorant." Mokuba laughed, accepting a marshmallow, and a stick, from Doug and stabbing the sweet onto it. "It's a roasted marshmallow…" He continued, pushing it into the fire. "Sandwiched between two wafers and with chocolate in between."

Seto wrinkled his nose at the sound of the gooey, messy, sweet, concoction. "And just when," He asked Mokuba "Have you had a…s'more?"

"Oh, don't be such a square." Azreal sighed, pushing a marshmallow on a stick into his hands and preparing another one herself. "Now, shut up, relax, and make your s'more."

Seto snorted, but obediently pushed the chemical mess into the flames.

"So…" Doug began, trying to fill the silence that had descended onto the fire. "Ann says you've starting making Robots…"

"That's right." Seto replied shortly, nodding.

"Oh, what kind?" Doug persisted. "I mean, the kind you get on a production line, or are we talking sentient beings…?"

"Hardly." Seto replied. "If Man is to ever create Artificial Intelligence, it requires that intelligence itself."

"And you're not that smart?" Doug asked.

"I am not a God." Seto replied. Then he smirked. "I can only do so much with the parts available."

Doug laughed, and they launched into a deep discussion.

"Mmm, this is really good…" Anna whispered to Mokuba, smiling as she swallowed another mouthful of the s'more. "And it's good to see Seto getting on with my dad."

"Yeah." Mokuba agreed, but glanced slightly worriedly at what he was supposed to be ignoring. "But… when are we going to tell Seto his marshmallow's burning?"

"When it starts burning down the stick." Anna replied, swallowing the last of the 'concoction'. "Oh, that's now!" She poked Seto in the arm. He looked at her quizzically, wondering why he was being interrupted mid-flow.

"That's all well and good, chick…" She told him. "But your stick is on fire."

Seto looked where she was pointing, and stood in alarm. The marshmallow had, for all but a charred lump, melted away, and the stick was burning brightly. Seto shook it, hoping to put it out.

It didn't go out.

He blew on it in a bizarre moment of stubbornness. He was _not _failing to roast a marshmallow!

The flame continued to cheerily move ever closer to his hand. Hurriedly, Seto surrendered the remains of the marshmallow, and just tossed the entire thing back into the fire.

Silence fell again.

Then Azreal started giggling.

"Not a word." Seto warned.

Mokuba joined in the laughter, tentatively followed by Ruby and Doug.

"Man, Seto…" Mokuba snorted. "You can't even cook a _marshmallow_…"

Seto was not famous for his sense of humour, but even he saw the funny side of it, and snorted. Soon the whole group of them fell into hysterical laughter unfitting to the actual event, and probably due to the sugar.

"Here." Azreal said, letting out the last of her giggles and handing him a fully assembled s'more. "Have this one."

Seto looked down at the gooey mess, melting all over his hands. "Is it safe?" He said, trying not to think about all the sugar and fat oozing over his fingers.

"Oh, like you can talk!" Azreal pointed out, snatching it back. "Just eat it, already!"

Seto opened his mouth to retort, something about how he couldn't if she was holding it, and, quick as a flash, she shoved the mess into his mouth.

Surprised, he stood with a s'more sticking lopsidedly half in and half out of his mouth.

She stared back at him, poker faced. Then collapsed, along with the rest of her family and Mokuba, into giggles again.

Seto raised a hand, held the s'more, and removed it, before he chocked.

But not before he'd taken a bite.

It had been a long time since he'd eaten something so… childish. So sweet, and gooey, and sticky; with 'heart attack' written all over it, and enough sugar to make seaweed taste like candyfloss, and, surprisingly, it was good.

They _all _ate many more s'mores before going to tents, full up, and tired.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It was about half an hour after entering his tent that Seto heard the first strands of music coming from outside. Aha. So Az _hadn't _gone to bed. She had been reluctant to go, but she had agreed. So he had left her, but, evidently, she hadn't gone at all. He unzipped the inner and outer skins of his tent and climbed out into the night air, cool now that the fire was down to small, glowing embers.

She had her back to him, facing towards the lake, and quietly playing a little melody on her harmonica. Seto went and sat beside her.

"You know…" He said gently. "It's getting late."

She jumped, then sighed, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I know. I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't." Seto promised, looking down at her. She had chocolate on her cheek, left over from the s'mores. "You have chocolate on your face." He told her, laughing.

"Where?" She frowned, straightening up and rubbing the clean cheek.

Still laughing, Seto kissed her lightly in the right place.

"There." He replied, simply, as she looked up at him in a mixture of surprise and a kind of bizarre amusement. Seto decided to probe even more for a reaction. "Mmm, chocolate…" He said, licking his lips.

She laughed, and kissed him on the cheek to. "Mmm, Seto." She muttered. Then she looked away, up at the clear night sky. "Aren't the stars beautiful?"

"Mmm."

"I don't know what it is…" Azreal replied. "But the stars have never looked so close. Not even up on Wherever. Here… it's like you could just reach out and pull them down, and keep them forever."

Seto laughed. "You'd need long fingers, and very large hands." He commented. "The nearest star to Earth is about four light years away." He glanced at her before continuing. "In fact, the light of some of the stars we're seeing now will have begun it's journey to Earth- at a speed of 186,000 miles in a second, I might add- before the birth of Christ. Some of those 'stars' are entire other galaxies. And some won't even exist any more." He didn't notice Azreal looking at him in wonder. "And even all these stars, in uncountable numbers, aren't a fraction of the universe." He caught onto her look. "So not within grabbing distance." He finished, smiling.

She put her head on one side as she considered him. Somewhere behind them, an owl hooted, but her gaze remained steady. "I never knew you were interested in stars…" She said curiously.

"Well, I…" Seto began, suddenly reluctant to talk. "When I last went camping, I-"

He was rudely interrupted by a series of events. The owl they had heard a minute ago swooped directly over their heads, surprising them both, instinctively they ducked, Azreal yelling, but knocking Seto. He fell over, putting a hand out to stop himself, crying out in shock as it pressed painfully into the still-hot ashes of the fire. As Seto jerked his hand away, the owl took off again, crying triumphantly as it held it's prey in it's claws. Azreal got up from the ground shakily.

"Seto…?" She asked uncertainly, as he to staggered to his feet, cradling his right hand in his left. "Are you alright?" She came over to see what was wrong.

"I'm fine." Seto ground out, forcing himself to let go of his hand and lowered it, clenching it into a fist and trying to ignore the pain on his burnt and blistered palm.

"What's wrong?" She repeated, concerned. She took the hand he hand been cradling up in her own. Seto sighed, not pulling away as she turned it over, gasping at the angry red mark.

"It's nothing." He insisted.

"That's _not _nothing." Azreal replied. "You need to douse that in water, right now."

"Really, it's nothing!" Seto growled, annoyed at the fuss she was making.

"Seth, please…" She begged. "That'll get all infected if you don't put it in water… What, is it some macho thing to not admitting to being hurt? Please, Seto."

Seto stalked down to the lake side, muttering something about how she knew exactly what buttons to press. He had to admit, though, the lake water was deliciously cold, soothing the sore. He examined it as best he could through the water and with very little light. Yeah, that was probably going to hurt in the morning…

When his hand had gone numb from the cold, he judged it to be long enough, and walked back up to the camp. Azreal was waiting for him, and she had evidently dug out a first aid kit from somewhere. Silently, she motioned for him to sit down before coming next to him and taking up his hand.

She did not look up, and did not speak as tried to help his hand. Nor did Seto. For now, there was nothing to say. So he just watched as she tried to rub the salve on without pressuring the hurt skin too much. She was giving her full effort, so, unlike if a doctor had been the one applying the salve, Seto did not complain if she sent the smallest wave of pain up his palm. Gradually, the cream took effect, nullifying the burning sensation a little. She put the cream away, then pulled out a bandage, wrapping it around his hand as best she could. Then she let go of him.

"Thank you." Seto murmured, moving his hand up to her face. She pulled away, looking anywhere but at him.

"You shouldn't be thanking me." She whispered, wiping her eyes. Oh dear. Seto wondered if he was going to be treated to tears again. It certainly looked like he would. "It's my fault you got hurt…"

"It was an accident." Seto tried, hoping desperately she wouldn't cry. Those situations were the most awkward…

"But I keep hurting you!" she wailed. "And I don't want to, Seto, I really don't want to!"

"You don't keep hurting me…" Seto promised, bewildered.

"Yes I do." She sniffed. "I really don't know what you see in me, I really don't. I'm clumsy, and…" She had stopped crying now, but had never sounded so sad. "Well, I'm clumsy, and I'm not smart, and I'm not pretty, all I do is hurt you, and… well, I just really don't know what you like about me!"

Seto was genuinely surprised. He had never realised she had such self-esteem issues… "What is there not to like about you?" He blurted out, not thinking. She looked down. "Look, Az… Okay, I'll be honest. You can be a bit of a klutz, but that's just you. The best thing about you is that you take it all with a smile on your face. Well, most of the time, anyway." He paused, hoping for a reaction, but got none. "I could never do that. And as for not being _smart_… you're one of the smartest people I know!" She snorted. "Honestly! Okay, so maybe you're not a straight-A student, but more then once you've out-smarted me. You may not be academic but… you've shown me a lot. Taught me a lot. Things I… never considered before. About Life, and happiness, and… everything, really. And what about that story you told earlier! I'd love to be able to come up with stuff like that. I mean, I'm terrible with words, just listen to me!" He smiled, taking her hand. He did not let her pull away this time. "And, as for not being pretty… well, maybe people don't faint when you're coming. And maybe they're not about to go putting you on the cover of every magazine. But I think you're beautiful, and I'm not the only one to say that. Besides, you're so beautiful _inside, _Az, that no body in the world could do you justice. Nothing could compare to what a nice person you are. You're just… everything I'm not. You're confident, and friendly, and loving… If anything, people wonder what you see in _me_. Because I'm the unlovable one here, and yet, you do." She remained silent, but was shaking silently. "Listen, Az, if I was in charge of those magazines, I would have you one every page of every one, because I'd want people to know how lucky I am."

Azreal looked up, smiling again. "You can stop now." She said, a laugh finally escaping from her lips. The shaking he'd mistaken for tears had in fact been in mirth. And who could blame her?

Seto sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness." He gasped. "I thought I'd have to keep that sentimental rubbish up for ages…"

Azreal laughed harder at him. "You really aren't good with words, are you? I mean, you laughed when I liked roses! And, you know, I'm wondering…" She looked at him slyly. "Exactly what magazines you're referring to, Seto, you pervert…"

"I didn't mean it like that!" Seto yelled, chocking as he went bright red.

"I know." She smirked, squeezing his hand. "It was a very nice load of sentimental rubbish, by the way." She squeezed his hand once more, and pulled away. She kissed him lightly on that sensitive place, near his ear, leaving him tingling, and began to walk back towards the tents. "Goodnight, Seto."

"…Goodnight, Az." he called after her. She turned and smiled, before she zipped herself into the cloth house.

Seto stood, but watched the lake for a few minutes. When his mind and heart and face had calmed down, he went to bed himself and slept soundly, not knowing of the trouble that would greet him in the morning.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Mokuba awoke early the next morning, under a canvas roof, to the sound of the dawn chorus of bird song, all of which was a new experience for him. For a moment, he lay there. When they walked home from school, Azreal was always telling him to appreciate the beauty of nature, pointing out the calls of particular birds, or the brightness of a weed growing on the grass verges. And then she'd tell him to appreciate it. Well, this morning, he could really see where she was coming from as he lay and listened to the birds.

Yep, totally, nature. Listen to it. Appreciate it. He could totally gel with it. Yeah. There he was, lying in the tent, appreciating the sound of the birds outside.

Of course, there would be more 'nature' to 'appreciate' if he stopped lying in bed and got up. That was reason enough for him. His attention span couldn't handle this anyway.

On the other side of the tent, James was still sleeping, and wasn't showing any signs of waking up, so Mokuba quickly got dressed. He didn't mind having to share a tent- Seto and Anna were really too old to share with anyone, and besides, James was a pretty cool kid. Mokuba couldn't say he'd always wanted a little brother- he hadn't; after all, there'd never been much chance he'd get one, and besides, he wouldn't wish what he and Seto had gone through on anyone. There was Noah, but he really didn't count because he was dead and if he wasn't he would have been Seto's age- but James was quite fun to have around. And he was getting good at Ro-Sham-Bo now.

Anna was already outside when he emerged, sitting at the small table under the marquee and eating a small bowl of cereal.

"Morning!" He called cheerily, sitting down oppisite her, and stroking Cassie as the dog trotted over.

"Morning." She replied, grinning. She had that look on her face, and in an instant, Mokuba knew she was up to something, and he didn't fancy his chances of dealing with it alone.

"Where's Seto…?" He asked, uncertainly.

"Judging by the sounds of movement, he's awake." Anna replied quietly, smirking. "But he hasn't attempted to come out yet."

Wait a second. _Attempted _to!

"What have you done…?" Mokuba wondered, looking towards Seto's tent.

The design of the tent was fairly good, and robust. It had an outer, and an inner layer, meaning no condensation or moisture, could seep through the walls. It also meant that there was, in effect, two doors to go through, with two separate zips. The zips, Mokuba saw, that were now padlocked together. Seto would not be able to open the doors more then a few centimetres.

It was a very crude, yet to be proved effective, trap.

Mokuba snorted. This could be fun to watch…

"Here we go…" Anna muttered, twirling the key in her fingers as the zips twitched.

A small gap opened in the tent door. And then the zip would go no further.

It strained for a moment, as Seto presumably struggled with it, but he eventually sussed it would go no further. The zips were well, and truly, stuck.

"What the…?" He muttered from within the tent, and then his hand appeared through the gap. It waved around for a moment, as if it were a small animal emerging from below ground and was dazed by the son. It was at this moment that James appeared, and saw what was going on, laughing at the hand waving around. He went to go over, but Anna grabbed him, shushing him. Seto's hand caught hold of the padlock, and bent it back to see what it was. A moment later, it appeared back outside.

"Let me out." Seto called tiredly.

No-one answered.

"Whoever did this, I'm going to kill you." He stated, flatly. "Now, let me out."

"How likely am I to do that if he'll kill me the second he's released?" Anna whispered. Mokuba shrugged.

"Fine." Seto sighed. His hand slip through the gap again, grabbed the padlock, and dragged it just inside the tent. A few slight noises, and, about fifteen seconds later, his hand pushed the padlock back out. No longer attached to the zips. Picked.

"Oh, crud…" Anna moaned, wondering if running would look too suspicious.

A second later, Seto erupted from the tent, looking enraged, and he glared at the three of them, looking for a culprit.

James, who was laughing openly, though if he understood or not Seto did not know, was only four. He wouldn't do anything like that.

That left the two normal suspects, his brother, and his girlfriend. Anna sat, smirking, but looking innocent. Mokuba was trying to contain his laughter.

Aha.

Azreal was _never _innocent. And, more to the point, she would just laugh out right unless she was trying to keep a low profile.

"That wasn't funny." He said to her, calmly. "I suggest you run."

Azreal didn't need telling twice, and ran, Seto perusing her. Mokuba watched as they dashed round the camp, disappearing briefly into the woods before bursting out again, back round the camp, leaping over guide ropes and the remains of the fire, until Azreal dived into her tent, laughing.

Seto smirked, and Mokuba got the sinking feeling Azreal was about to be beaten. Seto walked calmly around to the side of the tent, bent down, and released the guide rope. The wall sagged in.

Giving the girl inside no time to escape, Seto moved onto the next rope. And the next, and the next. In no time at all, the tent was almost totally collapsed, with only a few lumps to suggest it's contents. Calmly, Seto put his arm over the only moving one, and stopped it from struggling as he asked for an apology. The lump refused, giggling, and they continued as Mokuba watched in disbelief and James giggled.

"Morning, all!" Doug called happily, emerging from his tent.

"Uh… morning?" Mokuba offered.

"Good morning." Seto stated, nodding from somewhere on top of a collapsed tent.

"Morning dad!" Anna's muffled voice came from somewhere within the collapsed tent.

Doug opened his mouth, but then decided not to ask and went back inside his tent instead.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto sat on his coat, alone, under a tree. The fact that he was under a tree was not so much important as nice, as he read a book from the dappled light the leaves allowed through. He was leant up against the bark of the old oak, looking about as relaxed as anyone had ever seen him. Not that anyone was watching. They were all swimming in the lake. But Seto was not a big fan of swimming, so he was reading instead. It had been a long time since he had sat down and read a book, and this one, that Azreal had told him to read, was rather good. It had it's short comings, disappointingly, but he could do no better. Besides, fantasy was not his usual genre, so he was not one to judge, perhaps.

_A shadow rose from the top of the hill. A figure, cloaked in darkness. Navitas ignored the rain water dripping down his face, it had nothing to do with the fact he was shivering. As he stood, transfixed, the figure, the phantom, turned and spoke. _

Before Seto could find out _what _the phantom said, however, his hand was viciously mauled by Cassie's tongue.

"Get off me…" He said, pushing her, and her wet fur, away. Cassie lay down next to him, staring up with big brown eyes. "No." Seto said, firmly. "I know what you want. You want fuss, don't you? Well, the answer is no."

Cassie continued to look at him.

"You might as well give up." Seto told her. "I live with Mokuba. I'm immune to puppy dog eyes."

Cassie looked at him, unwavering.

Sighing, Seto relented and scratched behind her ears. "I hate the puppy-dog eyes…" He grumbled. "It always works…" he stopped grumbling, but continued to fuss Cassie with his bandaged hand in the hope that he could still read his book with the other.

However, he still didn't get to find out what the shadow said. He should've known that wherever Cassie was, Azreal, or Mokuba, was not far behind. In this case, however, it was Azreal.

"Hi." She said.

Seto gave up on the book, marking the page and putting it down. "Hey." He replied.

They sat in silence for a moment, broken only by Mokuba calling for Cassie. The dog trotted off, and they watched as the two played together.

"He really loves that dog." Azreal commented. "Maybe you should let him have one."

"He really likes your brother." Seto replied, keeping his eyes fixed ahead. Azreal may not have been able to see without her glasses, but to him it was painfully obvious that she was in her stripy swimsuit. "Are you suggesting I let him keep James to?"

She laughed. "Anyway, I just came to see if you were alright." She poked him. "Why are you sitting up here on your own, eh? What, can't you swim?"

Seto looked at her, raising his eyebrows. "Of course I can."

"Then why don't you?" She asked, dripping with false innocence. "Or is it that you just don't want to show off your legs?"

Seto's eyebrow moved even further up his forehead.

"Aha, so that's it!" She laughed. "Oh, come on Seto, I bet you have great legs under there! Or is it solid trouser all the way through, and your upper body just kinda balancing?" She looked at him mischievously, then tried to grab his foot in an attempt to find out.

"Get off me!" Seto said, retreating.

"Oh, come on!" She yelled back, trying to grab his foot, and succeeding only in pulling his shoe off. "In the name of Science, I must know!"

"This is _not _science!" Seto protested as he pulled away, leaving her with his other shoe. "This is some kind of crazy side-effect from the s'mores!"

She wasn't listening, attempting to look at his foot.

"You have hairy ankles." She commented.

"Those are _socks!" _

"Oh, I see! Well, let me try again!"

"No!"

"Oh, don't be a baby…"

"Don't even try it!"

"Try and stop me!"

Before she managed to investigate what Seto's ankle _really_ looked like, however, he was distracted by Mokuba calling him to come and look at something on the small pier over the water. Glad of the excuse to escape, Seto padded down in his socks. If Mokuba wondered what had happened to his brother's shoes, he didn't bother asking.

"Look!" He said excited, pointing down into the water.

"What am I looking for?" Seto frowned, bending over to see better.

Mokuba rolled his eyes. He really was rather gullible sometimes.

Azreal ran up the pier, crashing into him, and pushing with all her might.

_That _got Seto in the water.

Mokuba and Azreal laughed hysterically for a while, until they began to sense something really was amiss.

"Shouldn't he have… um… surfaced, by now?" Mokuba asked uncertainly.

"I wouldn't worry." Azreal tried, trying to sound light-hearted. "He can swim, right?"

"I don't know!" Mokuba wailed. "I've never thought to ask!"

"Uh… it's okay…" Azreal tried not to worry. This _was _Seto after all… "I'm sure he's just… hiding under the pier. Yeah."

She bent down, hanging so her head was upside down and she could see under the pier. No sign of Seto's smirking head. Slightly concerned now, She went to straighten up.

Of course, that was the precise moment that Seto surfaced behind her, and pulled her in backwards.

She surfaced a moment later, spluttering. "You…" She began. He smirked, managing to get the better of the her even though he was the one standing, almost fully clothed, in a lake with water dripping down his face and hair. "You…" He raised an eyebrow, laughing.

She laughed to, and they floated there, grinning at each other.

Mokuba cannonball-ed off the edge of the pier, effectively stopping them from doing anything horrible, like kissing in front of him. Azreal splashed him. Mokuba splashed back. Shrugging, Seto joined in. He was soaked anyway.

Having watched the entire proceedings from the shore, Doug pulled out a camera and captured the moment. Anna was adverse to having her picture taken and as a result, any photos of this holiday would have to be captured on the sly.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When the water fight had come to an end, Azreal looked up from where she, Mokuba, and Cassie had been splashing around quite happily to see Seto, stalking off up the slope to the summit they'd found the day before. Slightly concerned, she sploshed back to shore and pulled on a t-shirt and some trousers before wading through the shallows to catch up with him.

Seto was standing at the top of the hill, looking down into the valley, deep in thought, when she approached. She ran to join him.

"Hey, Seto!" She called.

Seto turned just in time to see her reach the summit of the hill, trip over in a rabbit hole and crash into him. Before he knew what was happening, they were both rolling down into the valley.

For a few, terrifying moments, Seto found himself rolling down a slope so steep it was like it wasn't there at all, crashing painfully from time to time through foliage or into a tree, none of which slowed his descent for more then a second. Nearby, Azreal was suffering a similar experience. His eyes were shut most of the time as his head bumped helplessly again and again, but he opened them just enough to see a floor of green beneath him. They were going to crash right down through the vale of trees, to the hidden bottom of the valley below!

Seto decided that he didn't want his eyes open anymore.

Once they had crashed through the canopy of leaves, however, the decent slowed considerably, and the rolled slowly onto flat, grassy land, sunlight filtering through the holes they'd made in the place where the trees weaved together.

"Are you alright?" Seto asked, once he had got his bearings back somewhat and gone over to Azreal, who had landed about two metres away.

"Fine." She said roughly, spiting dirt out of her mouth and sitting up. "A little winded, maybe bruised, but otherwise, I'm fine." She looked up, pulling pieces of bracken out of her hair, through the holes they'd made in the roof of leaves, and up to the mouth of the valley. She gave a low whistle. "We fell a long way… What about you? Are you alright?"

"Peachy." Seto sighed, rolling his eyes and concentrating on the task at hand. "There's no way we'll be able to climb back up…"

"Then we're stuck."

"Looks like." Seto sat down next to her.

"Well, it's not a bad place to be stuck in, by all accounts…" Azreal pointed out. "And we've discovered it. We could be famous."

Indeed, it wasn't a horrible place. Hidden by the steep slopes, the floor of the valley was a beautiful garden. How enough light and rain had reached them for them to grow no-one had ever found out. But it was a small, grassy, clearing, fringed with rows of trees that grew all the way down the slopes. And on the trees…

"Hey, look, someone's carved into it…" Azreal said, wondering over to it. With nothing else to do, Seto followed her, and they read in silence.

**_This is Harriet's place! Keep out!_**

"We didn't exactly _want _to come here…" Azreal grumbled.

"Look at the date." Seto pointed out. **_1903. _**"Whoever Harriet was, she's _at least _102 now, even if she's still alive. Which I doubt."

"There's another one!" Azreal said, moving to the next tree. "'Rediscovered by Ben in 1943.' Man, he was probably evacuated out here in the war…"

"There's one here." Seto said, pointing further up the tree. "Only this is George, in 1924."

"They're everywhere!" Azreal yelled, scanning up and down the row. "It's like a complete history of who's found this place!"

"And there's no skeletons, so they got out!" Seto added. "But where…?" He scanned around, examining every crevice, but could see no hand holds or ways to climb up. He rubbed his temples in frustration. This was a puzzle that he had to figure out…

"1963, 1969, 1976…" Azreal reeled off, moving up the row. "1981, 1987, 1991… That's it." Then she glanced back down the row. "Woah, woah!" She ran a little way back, and then laughed. "Dad lied. He _has _been down here. Man, he's older then I thought… Hey, Seto, come see this."

Seto tried to sustain interest, but failed. "Great. But we really need to find the way out…"

"They all wrote songs here, with the dates… all songs from that era."

Seto hmmed in some kind of acknowledgement.

"Seth…" She caught his hand. "We have to add ours!"

Seto looked down in surprise.

"C'mon, everyone else has…" She said. "What song do you want?"

He shrugged, and she sighed.

"Look, go and sit down over there, I'll do it." She sighed, finding a patch of soft bark on the tree and then a sharp stone. Scraping sounds echoed to Seto's ears as he sat on the ground.

Suddenly, finding a way out didn't seem so important. All of a sudden, he felt drained, like this little glade was timeless, and he never wanted to leave. He lay back in the grass, breathing deeply. A moment later, Azreal came and lay beside him.

"Did you pick a song?" Seto asked, detachedly.

"Yup." Azreal smiled. "I put 'Seto and Az were here having a 'Beautiful Day', 2005. Good?"

"Good." Seto agreed, rolling onto his back. Unbidden, a memory crept into his mind.

The sound of birds. The whisper of wind in the trees, rustling the leaves. So familiar, so forgotten. And he was just lying there. He wasn't working, wasn't striving to achieve anything, wasn't even thinking that much, as he lay there with Azreal by his side.

Just breathing. In and Out. Like that time so long ago… Also a camping trip, also a family with a young boy, and one who was barely more then a baby…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_He was surrounded by sounds, yet surrounded by silence. Birds, the wind, the burbling of a river somewhere off in the distance. He stared up in excited anticipation at the sky, as clear and blue as his own eyes. Occasionally a bird or a cloud would drift by, but nothing else seemed ready to disturb the perfect blue._

_He heard foot steps, and lay down even flatter, trying to be obscured by the tall grass, stifling a laugh. _

_"Seto…?" His dad called. "Where are you hiding?"_

_Seto laughed. "You'll never find me!"_

_"Oh really?" His dad asked. Then, suddenly, his head loomed in Seto's line of vision. "Don't kid yourself! Gotcha!" He grabbed Seto and tickled him till the small boy sat up and begged for mercy, still giggling._

_"So…" Dad asked once the young boy had settled down. "What are you doing out here, hiding in the grass all alone?"_

_"I'm waiting for the stars to come out!" Seto gasped, excitement flooding his cheeks and eyes. "So you can show me all the different shapes!"_

_His Dad laughed. "The stars won't be out for a while, son…"_

_"But I don't want to miss them!" Seto practically wailed._

_"You won't." His dad reassured him. "They'll wait for you."_

_"Really?" Seto asked, stubbornness falling a little. "Promise?"_

_"Promise!" His dad laughed, picking him up and slinging the delighted boy onto his back. "Now how about we go and dam up that stream?"_

_"Yeah!" Seto cheered. _

_Later, his elevation turned to fear. His dad hopped easily from rock to rock, but Seto's little legs would not reach that far. He jumped, slipped, and found himself amazingly safe in his father's arms._

_"Seto…" He said slowly. "You must have known you wouldn't have made it alone. Why did you try!"_

_Seto flinched, hating himself for making his father mad. "I… I just wanted to follow you…"_

_"Son, listen." His dad replied thoughtfully. "You don't have to follow me. Not if you can't or don't want to. We need someone on both sides to dam a river! Okay?"_

_"Okay." Seto nodded, not really understanding._

_"Good!" He smiled. "Then let's get to work!"_

_Seto began to agree happily, but then he spotted his mother and little brother watching from not far away. He hadn't liked Mokuba at all when he first arrived, but now the baby was more of a toddler, beginning to get the hang of walking. And as Seto watched the other half of his family, Mokuba struggled to get lose, clambering to go and join his dad and Seto even though he had no way of understanding what they were doing._

_But he was too little. He'd fall in and drown himself. So Mom wouldn't let him go, holding him tight._

_"Actually, dad…" Seto said slowly. "I'm gonna go and play with Mokie… he's too small to work with us, and didn't you say that we could all have fun on this holiday?"_

_"I did." His dad agreed. "Go on then."_

_He watched as Seto ran over to his little brother, dragging him off with a cry of: "C'mon, Mokie. I know an awesome place to play! And then dad says the stars will come out…"_

_"Stars!"_

_"Yeah! You know, they look shiny, but if you got real close to one…"_

_The voices drifted off into the distance as Seto half carried, half pulled the toddler away. The man moved closer to his wife._

_"What were you two doing?" She asked._

_"Nothing." He replied. "You know, we have a great son. He really looks after his brother…"_

_"Yes. And I hope he never changes."_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"What are you thinking about?" Azreal asked, pulling him back to the present.

Seto blinked, rolling over to look at her. "That's a strange question…"

"It's strange to see you smile." She replied, smiling herself.

"…Nothing." Seto answered, rolling onto his back once more. Then he smiled some more, laughing a little. "I was just waiting for the stars to come out."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They had been in the valley for almost an hour, and still no-one had come looking for them. Still, all they had done was lie there, side by side, in silence. At this rate, it really _did_ look like they'd be stuck there till the stars came out…

Seto shivered slightly in his wet clothes, trying to stop it from being noticeable. But, true to form, Azreal still noticed.

"So, you're cold to." She said, quietly. Seto nodded, knowing it was useless to deny it. "Here…" She said, closing her eyes. A few moments later, she reverted to her muse form, wings swooshing out of her back. She moved them strangely, like extra arms, wrapping them over both herself and Seto. It was that odd sensation again, of both coolness and heat, and Seto accepted the feathery blanket gratefully. Only…

"Az…" he said, in confusion, looking at her wings that seemed even more bedraggled then usual. Before his eyes, a white feather drifted to the ground. "Your wings are malting…"

"I know…" She replied, sounding on the verge of sleeping. Or fainting. "They're only going to last a few more days."

"What?" Seto demanded.

"They're here now, okay?" She tried sleepily.

"No, it's not." He answered. "What's wrong with you, Az? You've been acting strange for months now. Are you ill again?"

She didn't answer for a long time.

"Seto, listen…" She began, uncertainly, then suddenly shot bolt upright, gasping. Her wings splayed out behind her, feathers exploding off in all directions, swirling away as she suddenly, violently, became solid.

"Azreal!" Seto yelled urgently, batting feathers away from his face. "What's going on! Are you okay!" She was sitting, shaking violently. But he was just glad to see she was till breathing. He went to her, and did what he could- held her. She was gasping for air, but gradually her heart, and breathing slowed. Not to normal pace, but out of the danger zone.

"Talk to me, Az." Seto commanded quietly.

"It's gone." She whispered. He had never seen her so pale, or heard her so scared.

"I don't understand." Seto admitted. "What's gone?"

"Wherever…" She whispered, the two syllables slowly climbing over her lips and into the surrounding air, as still as the grave.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: _(Sniffle) _And so, that's the last we'll see of Ryou. Annnnnnyways, disclaimer: I own nothing, except, well, the werewolf story Az told was mine, for English. Also, the book Seto was reading was a story my friend and I wrote a few years back. That part, she wrote originally, but I tweaked quite a bit. Annnnnnd... I think that's it! But I have never made a s'more, nor roasted a marshmallow, so forgive any oversights...


	23. Drastic Measures I: Flight

A/N: Whoo, twenty-one chapters… this is getting stupidly long… _(Ahem) _I'm going to have to apologise for a late update again, aren't I…? Let's just call it unforeseen circumstances- aka, GCSEs being a lot of work, it being my sister's b'day on Friday and needing to get her something, and the unexpected development of going out once in a while. At any rate, from now on, I will not be saying I'll update on a Saturday, or on the weekend, or specify any day at all. Just expect it to be up on Monday, or Tuesday, Or Wednesday, Or Thursday, or Friday, or Saturday, or even Sunday:D In other words, I'll update at least once a week, when the chapter's written. I should manage once a week, though. Once again, I'm sorry.

On a completely unrelated note, it was the twenty-fifth yesterday! Meaning, if I remember correctly, it was Seto's birthday, no:D Just don't ask me how old he was. I mean, yeah, the general assumption is that in Series One, he was between the ages of 15 and 17, so it depends what series your in; or since Yu-Gi-Oh was created in, like, 1996, you could say he was about nine. But then, he was a teen when it began so… Or you could even look at it as the fact that he is a re-incarnation of Seth, meaning he's between 3000 and 5000, depending on which version you look at. Speaking of Seto, the other day I found out that only about 2 of the Japanese know how to play Chess. Suddenly, Kaiba Land's security seems _so _much better- even if I could still check-mate it. :D ANNNNNNyhoo, enough babbling on my part, shall we get on with it?

Review Responses:

**Dragonlady222: **_(Falls off chair) _Excellent! That's a GOOD word:D But I'm glad the flashback went down well. I was kinda worried about that... As for Ryou, well, he mayget a mention again next chapter...Kee kee kee...

**Willowwind:**_(Laughs at you) _That's why you don't read more then one chapter at once! And, Yes, You should STILL is bleah. And You area very poor blackmailer, compared to my siblings.

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since February, when I began **AfI.**

And now, true madness! It's a chapter set entirely on Wherever! And it has mentions of Muse Politics! I'm fairly sure the Laws of Physics were bent on more then one occasion! What is the world coming to?

Twenty-One: Drastic Measures I: Flight

"I have to go."

She sighed. "I know. Valour and Honour, right?"

"Exactly." He smiled.

Opal snorted, trailing her fingers under the trickle of water from the fountain, sparkling in the star light. They were sitting on the stone edge of the fountain right in the centre of Wherever, where they had been so many times, and she had just heard something she'd really rather not. "You are… incredibly stupid, Jay."

"What, worried I'll die on you?" He smirked.

"Of course." She admitted. "You'll never make it down to check the pump. You know as well as I do that, even with the best protective gear, you'll be dissolved before you even get close. The Nothing is at a height and strength unlike any we've ever seen before." She sighed ruthlessly. "I'd ask you to see sense, but I know you won't."

"Hey…" He said, grabbing her hand. She still didn't look at him, so he tried to improve the mood. "It's times like this you wish I'd come to work for your mother rather then joining the council, right?"

"There's never a moment when I don't." Opal sniped, still looking down. Due to the need to float, all the cities were more or less doughnut shaped, the levels getting smaller as you got closer to the top. You couldn't really tell there was a hole in the middle though, due to all the bridges and platforms that had been placed across as they went along. This wasn't really a very good idea, as the whole principal of the thing was that the light would get to a level through the hole in the level above. The new government had reinstated this, spending a lot of money to convert everything across the centre into glass. But that was when this particular party had just been voted in, was new and remembered what they stood for… "I think you're the only one who _isn't _corrupt."

"Which is why they need me to lead these men." Jay said, gently.

"To their deaths!"

"Perhaps." He admitted. "Look, Opal… The reason I didn't become a Muse was… because I was scared."

Opal looked at him in surprise. She didn't think he would ever be afraid of anything.

"Heh." He sighed. "I have a great respect for you guys. I could never go down to Earth like you do. What if you get stranded, or lose your powers or…" He laughed. "But this is my one chance, Opal, to be brave. Be a hero. Don't you see?"

"I can't change your mind." She sniffed, pulling away. "So… good luck. Now, go!"

He stood, needing to head back and prepare for their leaving in the morning. "I'll be back, I promise."

"Just go, Jay. I'll see you soon."

As he turned and walked away, Opal felt her heart stretched with him. Somehow, she knew she would never see him again.

Because some promises just can't be kept, no matter how much you want them to be.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Opal shoved past, running over to the small screen. Her sisters followed more sedately, the looks of worry and concern unfitting to their age. Millierie regarded them silently, before going over to her daughter stood in front of the monitor.

"I didn't want you three in here." She murmured. "Because I can't protect you from what you might see. But you're not little girls anymore, if you want to be here, I can't stop you."

"How long do they have left?" Opal asked, roughly, not taking her eyes off the screen, showing what the scouting party could see. The screen was filled with a white mist. They must be right down in the lower levels, trying to find the problem… They'd been out in it to long, they couldn't survive…

"We're not sure." Millierie admitted. "They refuse to pull out."

A slight pause. "Let me talk to him." Sighing, Millierie pushed a microphone towards her.

"It won't do any good, they've turned them off. At least, we _think _they have. If they can hear us, they're not responding."

"He'll answer." Opal insisted stonily, pressing down on the button. Hell, this was the one person outside her family she'd allowed herself to love, and she wasn't going to let him die like this, no matter how noble and valiant it would make him. No way. He'd _promised _her… "Jay-" She began, but she was interrupted as the screen in front of her went black and began buzzing in protest.

For a moment, no-one moved. Then, silently, Opal released the button and stepped aside, letting her mother back in.

Millierie checked the other cameras. For everyone, it was the same story, a black screen. It could be a malfunction due to Nothing levels. But the equipment would last as long as the people did. They were all gone, dissolved into the Nothing.

Millierie closed her eyes for an extended period of time before turning to face the other four occupants of the room. Three of her daughters, and her second in command looked back at her.

"That's it." Millierie decided. "Rebecca, get me a line to the President, and this time don't take 'no' for an answer. I've been warning of this for months, and now it's too late- but lives can be saved. And they _will _be saved."

Nodding, she headed out the room, followed by the triplets.

"Opal?" Millierie asked.

The girl in question gave a kind of bitter smile. "There isn't time now. Let us concern ourselves with the living first and the dead… later."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Ms. Kiyoko, there is nothing to be done." The President said, grimacing over the conference screen in Millierie's office that was just about big enough to house it. She didn't care for overly large rooms. It was just further to walk from the door. "Until the full extent of this problem has been assessed, there is no reason to cause a wide-spread panic."

"With respect, sir…" Millierie replied, trying to sound as though she meant the term. "My teams have 'fully assessed the problem'. So have yours. People have _died_. Wherever is already sinking. We have to get everyone out of here."

Annoyance flashed across his face. "I assure you, Millierie, I am doing everything I can-"

"How can you say that?" Millierie demanded. "You're conveniently over in Elsewhere, aren't you? What are you planning on doing, John? I think you're forgetting that you're supposed to serve the people first and yourself second!"

"And I think you're forgetting _your _place!" He thundered. "What I do is none of your concern! At the end of the day, you are the head of a _corporation_! I've let you get away with a lot over the years because of your position Millierie, but you need to bear in mind you are _not _the government and have no say in our actions!" His face softened. "I understand your concern, Millierie. But you have to leave the saving of lives to us."

"Wherever is _sinking_!" Millierie repeated. "The slums are already gone, and the Nothing is rising at an unprecedented rate! The Buoyancy and Support column are weakening! At this rate, we're going to fall from the sky and whatever shrapnel isn't dissolved on the way down is going to crash to Earth!"

"Ms. Kiyoko." He replied stonily, all traces of any earlier alliances gone from his voice. "What you are suggesting- this mass evacuation- is preposterous. I would never allow that to happen. Wherever is our largest city, and the other four would be hard-pressed to take you all. And besides, this is just your imagination running away with you. I have reliable evidence saying it's not as bad as you're making out, and certainly not enough to bother panicking the general public with. If it makes you feel better, you and your family have full permission to leave."

"I will not abandon these people." Millierie replied, her voice dripping ice.

"So be it." He answered, sighing. "But, know this- No Wherevarian will evacuate to Elsewhere, Anywhere, Nowhere _or_ Somewhere until when and if I deem it necessary! I'll see you when I return." Harshly, he reached forward and closed the line.

Millierie leant forward on the desk in frustration, closing her eyes as she thought. She was a leader by her very nature, and, more to the point, was no quitter.

"Well, girls." She said, turning to face the others. "You heard the man. No-one will evacuate to Elsewhere, Anywhere, Nowhere or Somewhere."

"Millie…?" Rebecca began warningly.

"I am _not _letting these people die!" Millierie answered firmly. "So… Emerald! I want you to go and find in the references how many humans know about us. Ruby, go to everywhere you can think of, spread the word. People can take only what they can carry. Gather Muses, Ethrals- I mean NIPs, correctly- the old, the young, everyone! Ensure there is a Muse of at least a Level Two or higher in charge of each group. Opal, I want you to gather the techies and get as many chutes and portholes outta here as many and as fast as you can. Rebecca, get the lists of people, and pass them to all those manning the chutes. _No-one _is to be left behind!"

They all looked at her like she was crazy.

"Mom..." Emerald began hesitantly. "You can't possibly be trying to-"

"She is." Opal said flatly. "We're going to evacuate this place. To Earth. And, as she doesn't have the authority to do so, I'm fairly sure it's illegal."

"So you'll help?" Millierie smiled.

"There will be no more death today." Opal replied, tight-lipped, and headed out the room without another word. Millierie worried about her… Then Rebecca followed her, standing by her friend-cum-boss as always. Nodding, Emerald left to. Ruby folded her arms and looked at her mother.

"This is madness." She commented wryly, shaking her head as she went out to do her mother's bidding.

"No." Millierie replied evenly. "This is _war._"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Opal was not an unusual visitor to the small, dark, cupboard-like Tech. room, and she knew them all by name, but today, none of them knew what to say to her. The Council Chambers were right on the top level of Wherever, that was restricted to the members only. Despite the fact that it supposedly out of bounds, however, Opal was a regular appearance as they did what ever menial tasks had been delegated to them that day. She was more then willing to help, and they were more then willing to let her help. Some of the older members remembered when she had first started sneaking up, through the service shafts, and how they'd taught her, the small girl delighting in everything they taught her, playing with every small component and demanding to know what it did.

Today, however, it was not a little girl wishing to learn that stepped out of the shaft, not a child at all, an adult with a purpose and the power to show them some things. Today, her face did not break into an innocent smile. The thing about innocence is that it fades with age, and, today, she looked older then she ever had before. And today, she was not asking to be taught. Today, she may just be asking too much…

"I'm sorry, Miss Opal, it's more then my job's worth." Mo was just a few years away from retirement. He wished he hadn't had to be the one to deal with this. He could have grown old quite happily without having to face the stony glare being directed at him now. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "From what you're saying, you're taking on the _Government. _I don't have nuffin against them, and besides, we're just technicians. The people love your mother, she'll be alright. But us, we're just Ethrals- we couldn't win…"

Opal looked down at the short, balding man. He'd helped her a lot over the years, never refused her anything. Except now, when she wanted them to help her get chutes and Perm'holes ready, and this could be the most important thing she'd ever asked for. "Your jobs don't matter now! Unless we do this, _everyone _is going to die!"

Mo hesitated. "Now, now…" He replied, moving around in the dark, cluttered room in the process of making a brew. "I'm sure it's not that bad. This is a good Government. They'll sort it out, so don't you worry about it."

Opal sighed in exasperation. "They are a good government. The Humans haven't found us yet; No-one's denying that. But this time, they're wrong! They're blinded to it! They won't accept that the more the Nothing rises, the stronger it gets, and they still think they can stop it later! But there's no time, and we have to get everyone out of here! Not six months ago did we have to evacuate the lowest three levels, and now it's almost upon those that are habituated! No-one can get close enough to find the problem, let alone fix it. People have died trying!"

"Well, I'm sure-" Mo began.

"_Jay _died." Opal informed him, bitterly, knowing the old man had played cards with him from time to time. "You're always saying he was a good man. Well, he _died_ trying to find the problem. He knew he would, I think, but he went anyway! He wanted to be a hero, he was hoping to find a way to save everyone. But he couldn't."

Mo frowned, surprised to say the least. Jay _had _been a good man. He was good company, and always appeared just when you needed the help. Over the years, he had been like a son to Mo. That he was dead… was unthinkable.

"Be that as it may," He continued harshly, swallowing. "No civilian- like your esteemed self, Miss Opal- may see the Blueprints, as defined by Government law."

Opal's eyes flashed angrily, but before she could say anything, he continued.

"However, if, say, while I was out of the room getting milk for this cup of tea here, you happened to find what you wanted in the bottom draw of the cabinet over there, and forced my assistant into explaining it, and upon my return made us accompany you to do your mother's bidding or you'd say, burn the blueprints, we would be forced to do all could to protect the property the Government had seen fit to hand to our care; as dictated in an obscure law that rarely comes up. Now," He moved towards the door. "I must go and find milk for this tea. Oh, and to find our wayward Chute specialist…" He left the room.

Opal shook her head. Now, that really _was _an obscure law. And, if a situation was real, it would be rather dangerous for them to follow it. It was really quite a sad state of affairs, when the government put possessions over people. But still. That was where their democracy had got them.

So, sometimes, people just had to bite the bullet and realise that Law and what was right were different things. To be heroes.

For Honour and Valour…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Rebecca and Emerald were working in the same room, going through records like they never had before. The Records Room was the largest in the city; and on three floors, each about three times the size of a football pitch. This was what took up three-quarters of the level, and so, was oddly curved as it followed the shape. This 'room' held a forest of files, and although had a large staff, they weren't worried about being caught. The chance of finding someone other then on the front desk was roughly the same likelyhood of a grain sand being hit by lightning in a rainforest of metal trees. Including the chances of there being a rainforest of metal trees; and there being a single grain of sand within it. Which is why they were never venturing more then a cabinet or two apart.

Rebecca suddenly felt she had the easier job, just needing to find the census for each section of each layer, which was all done for her due to a very efficient filing system. All she had to do was focus on the task at hand, and not on the fact that, if they idea of evacuating to Earth wasn't illegal, this certainly was.

After all, the records were kept in the Government Chambers. And if you did not have permission from the government, technically, you weren't supposed to be there.

Technically.

Rebecca bit her lip, pushing the thoughts aside as she tried to remember on which level the Plagal District was. While she'd be thinking this, she'd managed to drop the binder. She had once heard that the Law was only a word for what had a right to happen. But she had followed Millierie for the best part of twenty years, not including the time Millie had spent on Earth. And in all that time, she had never said no to her. She wasn't about to start now. Besides, she'd seen the readings for herself. They had to do this. And she'd come so far that to go back would be as tedious as to go ahead. With renewed determination, she shuffled Plagal back into the right place, and continued to wonder how in the Floating Cities she was going to distribute this lot to the Muses Ruby was supposed to have ready, who should be waiting at the chutes and Perm'holes which Opal was supposed to get ready to the right places that Emerald dictated. The only problem was, none of them could really do anything until Emerald was done… And it looked as though Emerald was going to have to go through every cabinet in something the size of a three-layer football pitch to find the record she needed.

_The first person for a job like this, _Rebecca thought. _Would have been Opal. She's the one who reads all the time…_

But she was wrong. Opal was needed to sweet talk the techies. Due to the fact that she was always losing things, Emerald was very good at finding them. Within about 30 seconds, she could understand just about any filing system, and then work with it. As a result, it only took a further few painstaking minutes to find the surprisingly small file. Millierie knew her daughter's strengths and weaknesses as if they were her own. She had given them all the right job.

"Do you have what you need?" Emerald whispered, even that slight noise echoing in the cavernous space. Rebecca nodded. They really wanted as little noise as possible. But she had to tell her, it was unavoidable.

"Yes. But it's an entire cabinet. They don't need all that information, but that's all I can get- _if _I can get it. How are we supposed to get it all out of here? That's hard enough, but we'll have to walk through the _entire_ level to get it back down! We'd get caught for sure!"

What they needed was a plan, or a diversion.

Fortunately, or perhaps, unfortunately, Millierie had already thought of that. And she was all over it.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Any doubts that Ruby had had about this 'mission' were erased when she got to the level which she always thought of as the central layer, and found it full of people who had fled as the Nothing had eroded their own Levels. She knew that the bottom two or three had gone, but refugees from Level Five? This was absurd! The Nothing had risen an entire level overnight! Discontent and panic was surely spreading up the levels of Wherever as she stood, watching everyone go past. She felt anger coil up inside her as she realised that, until now, no-one was going to do anything about it!

Well, _she _was going to do something about it. Ruby Kiyoko was ready for action. And so, she plunged into the uncertain, uncomfortable bustle of what was essentially a level dedicated to shopping and business in order to track down as many Level Two or higher Muses she could find. They were all due to rendezvous here later. Until Emerald arrived with the lists of where they could hide, and Opal had the chutes ready, she'd just have to do what she could to ally the fears of those who had noticed her and were now begging to know what was being done to help them.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"There are about five hundred chutes out of Wherever, that we know of." Baird told her, showing the original Blueprints of the city. He was younger then Opal, and she didn't think much of him. In fact, he had been in Azreal's year. And class. And, from what she'd said, he was one of the most annoying people to ever reside in Wherever. But, there was no denying he was very good at what he did. "A lot of those, however, were on the lower two service layers- in the Nothing now, of course, and that's about two hundred gone right there."

"What about the others?" Opal asked, frowning. A mass evacuation was looking rather impossible right now…

"Oh, they're all up and running and ready to go!" He said cheerily. "That is, about fifty of them are…"

"Fifty!" Opal yelped, temporarily losing her cool. "How do you get Muses up and down all the time!"

"Phfft." He snorted. "We normally know in advance, and we set up a porthole. I mean, honestly, how often have you actually used the chutes? They're only used in, like, emergencies."

"In case you hadn't noticed, this _is _an emergency." Opal snapped back. "Okay, Baird. This city has a population of roughly 7074265. How are we going to get them all out in less then a day with only fifty chutes?"

"We don't." A harsh, female voice said. Rubrica, the chutes specialist. "You'd never do it. You can forget it. They can't even carry more then five or six people at once."

"Then what do we do?" Opal demanded. "We have to get everyone out of here, and the only way is the Chutes! Unless you think you've got enough Perm'holes for everyone."

"Tsk." Rubrica hissed at her. "Some can use the chutes. Some can use the Perm'holes. And the others…"

"The others?" Opal asked.

Rubrica did not answer, her red hair shining in the almost non-existent light as she moved across the room, her dark top riding up a little as she bent down to a low drawer. "There is one other way…" She said, smirking. "A desperate measure. Easier to set up then portholes, quicker then the chutes, and certainly more convenient then the Perm'holes. Permanent they may be, but they don't half come out in some strange places. This way… It's fast, easy, and there's room for everyone."

Opal hesitated. "And what is it?"

Rubrica grinned. "Jumping."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"So, let's recap." Emerald said, shifting on the cold floor. They were sitting in front of the filing cabinet that held the information they needed, next to a panel of glass floor as the Records Department spilled over the hole, causing an odd angle of light to slant over their faces. They no longer bothered to keep their voices down. "We need to somehow move a very large filing cabinet down through a few floors, preferably to level six where we should be meeting the others."

"Yup."

"But the cabinet's so heavy, it's hard to open the drawers."

"Yup."  
"And, not only do we have to move it, we have to move it without anyone noticing we've got it, because we're not only stealing it, but we're stealing it from somewhere we're not supposed to be."

"Yup."

"Even more annoyingly, half that information we don't need. If only we could just take the names…"

"Yup."

Emerald laughed a little. "Woah, this hero thing sure is hard, ne? I can't believe we were defeated by a _filing cabinet_…"

"Oh, we're not defeated yet…" Rebecca said slowly, climbing to her feet. "Tell me, how old is this glass?"

"Uh, I don't know… Old, if it has that many 'Do not exceed…' stickers on it." Emerald replied, casting a disdainful eye over the rarely cleaned glass. "Why?"  
"So…" Rebecca continued. "Do you think it would break if, say, someone moved a very large filing cabinet on top of it…?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Opal tried very hard to reign in the temper that wanted to yell at them all to take this seriously. The fact was, she'd known Rubrica long enough to realise she probably _was _serious, but just wanted to goad her. So, she took a deep breath, and made the plunge.

"And you when you say 'jump', you actually mean…" She prompted.

Rubrica laughed. "Ah, you're too used to me. You're no fun."

"Can we get back to the task in hand, please!"

"Fine." She laid the papers that she had pulled out of the draws down on the table so Opal could see.

"But… these are just plans for those maintenance suits…" Opal was bewildered. The pod like things had room for a few people, and ran on caterpillar tracks, with robotic arms at the front. The idea was that they could move technicians to where they needed to be, fast, and also let them safely clean up dangerous spills or leaks. Sure, they had a dangerous amount of Nothing around, but these really wouldn't help…

"Think again." Rubrica said, delighting in her ignorance. "Have you ever seen one of these babies in the shafts down to a lower level? Or on the stairs?"

"No…"  
"It's the arms." Rubrica explained. "If manned correctly, they can be used to quite literally jump to the right levels. One of these can carry between four and six people at a stretch, and every cleaner, janitor and caretaker can operate them. We have a force of about five hundred, cleaning the entire city. But if they can just jump down the chutes… About a minute down, about five up. So that's six people down in a minute, for every one of the two fifty chutes or so that are disused, and the chutes that are in service."

Opal swallowed. "So… you're suggesting that we allow about three quarters of the population to plummet thousands of feet to Earth. In a road sweeper!"

"Hey, these are more then road sweepers! They can handle the free fall, even if you can't." Rubrica began to roll up the diagram of the Jumpers. "Still, it's your exodus, yo. Your call."

"…Fine." Opal said. "Gather your staff and get the Jumpers down to the Central Layer as fast as you can. We'll send the Old, the Young, the pregnant and the faint of heart in the chutes. The rest of us… jump."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The Upper Layers were older, as the original Wherever had only been the first six levels. As the population grew, another six had been built below, making it twelve storeys. Sometimes they wondered why the humans, shielded or not, did not crash into their floating cities. But, then again, the planes did not go high enough, and, simply put, the 'Sky' was rather large.

At any rate, the glass in the lower levels had a far higher weight restriction. In the central plaza, more people were likely to walk over it, and before the very lowest layers had been consumed by the Nothing, there had been wharves, loading and unloading of goods from other cities and from Earth. The glass needed to be stronger. Up here, it did not.

"Are you seriously suggesting…" Emerald asked indcredously. "That we push the cabinet onto this glass in the hopes it will smash through it, and through the other layers, to land in the middle of the six floor but not breaking through the glass there- _without _killing anyone?"

"Pretty much, yes." Rebecca replied, stepping out warily onto the glass panel. Apart from a slight click as her shoes touched it, the glass did not complain. But then, this thing had to be at least three times her weight.

Emerald hesitated. "…But that'll make a lot of noise. There's a lot of government workers who wouldn't follow my mother."

"And a lot who would." Rebecca replied, easily. "But I see what you mean. We need a distraction."

As if by magic, bangs and crashes and howls issued from outside, echoing off all the metal walls and floors and deafening them all.

"Fireworks?" Emerald frowned.

"Millierie." Rebecca smiled, getting behind the cabinet and pushing without hesitation, and Emerald joined her a second later.

Grunting at the weight, and wincing at the sounds it made as it scraped heavily across the floor, they slowly moved the cabinet, taking a good few minutes to move the few centimetres to the edge of the glass. This was the dangerous parts- they needed the cabinet to fall right through the middle, really, but they would have to push it out to the middle fast, before the glass broke. As they inched forward, the glass groaned and protested. As a large crack splintered across the middle, Rebecca grabbed Emerald, yelling "That's good enough! Move!" as they leaped for the edge.

The glass finally shattered, and fragments fell, along with the cabinet. There were no worries about it being able to travel down, with the momentum it would gain, but if it didn't stop on the sixth floor…

Emerald watched as the cabinet began it's journey through six floors, hoping it wouldn't kill everyone. This sure was a lot of work when all they wanted was a list of who lived in the city…

"I sure hope the drawers don't come open…" She said as an afterthought.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Millierie had not forgotten to give herself a task. She had three goals:

1. There were a whole lot of government officials up there who needed to be down here if they were going to be rescued.

2. The President would be expecting her to pull something, although perhaps not on this scale. And he'd have everyone looking until they at least thought they'd found what she was up to.

3. Most of her family was breaking and entering into where they should not be, and she'd really rather they weren't caught.

And what better way to protect those who were breaking the law then to break it herself? She was sure to lose her job was this little stunt anyway, so why not?

She headed into the Loft of the Headquarters, found what she needed, and headed out, wishing someone was there to help her carry it all, and hoping that a CEO wandering the halls with several boxes of industrial fireworks didn't look _too _suspicious.

There were strict rules about fireworks, and not setting them off on lower levels due to the fire hazard it presented. So that's where Millierie headed, ready to do what she did best- cause some chaos.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Mo assembled every single person with the basic training to run a Jumper, and told them all what they had to do. Some of them were unsure, but then, most came from the lower Levels, which were now blanketed in the lethal fog. They soon convinced the rest. They outnumbered the Jumpers, as there were about twice as many of them as there were machines, but everyone paired up and jumped into the robots without hesitation. Then, slowly, one by one, the metallic monsters began to laboriously jump from the edge of the layer, near the tech room, falling for a few terrifying seconds before landing on the edge below. The people on the layers began to follow them down, torn between following the giant robots and the fireworks someone seemed to be setting off lower down. In the end, however, they followed- something was defiantly up.

Feeling a little ill as they headed down another layer, Opal looked out the side of the pod as opposed to down. And, she could have sworn, away in the distance, a filing cabinet was falling through the levels. She informed Rubrica, and they hurried over, the 'road sweeper' being surprisingly fast. It was then that her sister and Rebecca appeared, hurrying down the stairs. Opal stuck her head out.

"Did you drop a filing cabinet?" She asked.

"Uh… Sorta…"

"Why?"

"Hey, we're not the ones in the clean mobile!" Emerald shot back. "But, seeing as you're here, can you give us a ride…?"

Rubrica certainly did that, going faster then ever before, as though in some futile hope that she could beat the cabinet down.

Opal decided that, when the time came, she'd take one of the working chutes. For their safety, of course. You know.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ruby had gathered all the Muses that had been on duty in head quarters, and seen to it that any arriving on the floor- The Palisades was where everyone was instructed to go if worried about an emergency- and had even begun to sort the people into groups of the floors they lived on, hoping that communities would gradually gather themselves together and make it easier to check that no-one was missing. They were frustratingly worried though, demanding to know what was going on and if they should put a paper bag over their heads. To make matters worse, quite a large group of people had suddenly decided to go back up, talking into radios. She hoped they weren't the Police…

Of course, the seeds of discontent were beginning to grow into an all out panic as, through the glass hole in the middle of the level, they could see the Nothing growing ever thicker, and creating strange shapes, surely with only an hour or two till it reached them…

Ruby was not ready for this kind of leadership. She had been trained to run a _company_, not the city! But… these people were depending on her. If she couldn't do it, no-one else could. So, she had to try. She was about to give the order to evacuate to higher ground when something large and heavy crashed through the floor above. Shrieking, people ran for cover, and a few seconds later, the thing smashed into the glass in the floor, accelerating at such a speed that it made a large dent.

Ruby wondered if the Nothing was beginning to affect her sanity. There, in a ten metre-deep crater in the fifteen-metre thick glass, was what appeared to be a rather large filing cabinet.

Then, hundreds of cleaning robots pounced down on the edges of the layer, shaking it as they rumbled closer.

Her mother arrived a moment later, dumping an empty fireworks box into a dust bin, as, all around, the robots opened and those who she had believed to be the Police, Opal, Emerald, and Rebecca all stepped out.

Her family had arrived.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Millierie refused to leave until every last Muse (Mostly Level Twos and Threes) that her daughter had put in charge of evacuating the people from Wherever reported back to tell her everyone on their list had gone. Finally, it was just them and Rebecca, along with Baird.

"Is everyone out?" She asked.

"Yes, except us!" Rebecca replied, sounding haggard. One of her duties was to protect Millierie in everyday work when her body guards were not around, and she had pulled some pretty dumb stunts in her time, but this was just taking the biscuit. They were now standing on Level Three. The evacuation had taken most of the day and night- and most of the city, sinking into the Nothing.

"Come on!" Baird yelled from inside the Jumper he was piloting. "If you don't hurry, I'll go without you!"

So they went. Opal was not happy.

When they landed, in the middle of a wood somewhere outside Kyoto, Baird immediately went over to the group that was being told nearby places where they could seek sanctuary, and Rebecca went with him.

Millierie and her family, however, hung back for a moment, closing off the final porthole to Wherever, in order to stop the Nothing passing down to Earth. There was a shudder as it was cut off, suddenly making them realise just how homeless they were. For a moment, they stood, looking at each other.

Ruby giggled slightly. "We've done some crazy things before, but…"

"Mmm." Millierie agreed. "But I don't think we've made history before, have we?"

"You're going to lose your job." Opal pointed out flatly.

"I know."

"Probably face a court case to, if we ever get back to Wherever. The Muses are scattered across the globe. The census was desecrated- we threw half of it out. It's not just the city that's going to be absorbed into the Nothing- it's the entire social system. Even if we rebuild the city, it won't be the same…" Opal sighed. "Now we're refugees in a place that doesn't know we exist."

"But we're alive." Millierie pointed out. "And that's good enough for me."

"Yes, for the most part, we're alive." Opal said sadly. "I mean, we're heroes now, right?" She laughed bitterly. "And that, of course, makes all the difference. Come on, then." She began to walk off in a random direction.

"Opal!" Emerald yelled. "Where are you going?"

"I've worked here before, there's a train station over there." Opal informed them. "I figured we'd better go and stow away on a train to Domino. Azreal will have felt that and it's almost a certainty that she's going to do something stupid."

No-one bothered to point out that they had just snuck into Government facilities, dropped filing cabinets through six floors, let off fireworks under a cover, or taken the entire population of a city down to another planet in a troop of what were, effectively, road sweepers.

Because, you know, that wasn't stupid.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: There. All done, at last… Next chapter, we get back to Az! Horray! Hope you didn't mind the fact that she didn't appear this time… Join me for Desperate Measures II: Fight at some point in the next week!

**Note: **The Population figure Opal gave for Wherever was in fact, London's from 1996, because I couldn't be bothered to think of one. And don't ask why I have the population of London figures for 1996, because I don't know either. But it was on the same sheet of paper as a diagram I scribbled for my sister and the words 'Fuji Film Finepix s5500'. Yeah. Welcome to my desk. And if you didn't quite get the structure of Wherever, don't worry, because Az is going to explain all. But think Pinecone. :D


	24. Drastic Measures 2: Fight

A/N: Finally got this done… Blaaaarg… It's a busy life, oh yes! So, without further ado, or '_Stalling'_, as some choose to see it- _(Cough**Willowwind**Cough)_- here's the chapter, in witch we see the gathering of forces! Wheee!

Disclaimer: Same old, same old… The closest I come to owning YGO is the Manga I bought from Forbidden Planet in the summer. Meh.

Oh, I'm told that we're allowed reviews again, provided they're at the bottom, so that's where you'll find them! Sheesh…

Twenty-Two: Drastic Measures II: Fight (Yes, **Willowwind, **No more 'Stalling'. Hmmph.)

Now you feel it, now you don't.

Kaho gasped in surprise, feeling a slight tug on her senses as something was abruptly cut off. She searched her senses desperately, but it was gone, and it worried her greatly. The sense of muses coming down to Earth, the feel of all five cities was always at the back of her mind. As her powers waned, logically, so did the sense. But to have a city cut off so abruptly like that…

She knew it wasn't Somewhere. If it had been her home town, she would have had far more then the small 'tug' at her mind. She tried to figure out which city had gone, because as far as she could tell, it was Wherever, which was a silly idea, the capital would never go down…

Unless something was really, really wrong.

She didn't hesitate any longer, grabbing a jacket and heading out the flat. She didn't know where she was planning on going, but she had to get there fast.

Her first thought was to make some contact with Azreal. So, pulling out her mobile and flicking through the phone book, she waited worriedly for an answer.

That would have been far more then a 'tug' for her weakened friend. She just hoped an answer would come.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal leapt to her feet, looking around her desperately. Uncertainly, Seto stood to. Somehow, he didn't think she was going to find Wherever around here…

Screaming in frustration, Azreal sought an exit a final time, and, seeing none, running blindly at the side, scrabbling for a hold and attempting to climb even as she slid backwards.

"Az!" Seto protested, grabbing her arms and swinging her round to face him. "Would you care to explain what's going on!"

"I have to get back to Domino!" She spat at him. "I have to find out what's happening!"

"You have more idea then I do." Seto pointed out, stopping her from pulling away. "Calm down!"

"I'm not going to calm down till I find a way out of here and know what's happened to Wherever!" She shouted, finally jerking out of his grasp. "How am I supposed to calm down! I don't know, Seto, maybe you don't care about your hometown, but I _do_, I was born there and I grew up there and if my home is in trouble I'd like to know what's happening to it!"

Seto was a little surprised. From what he could gather, she was sensing something bad about Wherever, or the lack thereof, but… her home? That was what she had said. 'My home'… He swallowed. "Well, you're not going to do any good running around without thought! If you remember, we couldn't find an exit! So we have to stop and think about this!"

"Screw that." She spat back, annoyed. "I'll fly out of here!" Her wings appeared again, faster then ever before, fuelled by her panic, her concern for her home.

Seto was getting even more concerned. If he remembered rightly, she couldn't fly… she had said herself, the average Muse couldn't fly more then a few metres up or along. Their bones were solid; they were simply too heavy for any distance. But Az didn't seem to care as she pushed herself into the air.

Seto moved fast, and when she fell, he was ready. They both went tumbling, but at least she hadn't broken anything. The wings disappeared. Seto left her alone for a moment, and when she seemed a little more controlled, he sat up and waited for her to speak.

"Sorry…" She muttered. "Sorry…" She looked up at him helplessly. "…I'm scared for it."

"I know." Seto sighed. "…I'll take you back to Domino, if you'll explain on the way."

She nodded, still shaking. She had flown higher, and faster, then ever before, her emotion pushing her on, but it still hadn't been enough. And now that she was thinking again, she realised she had nothing but the most primitive sense to tell her what was happening. And it was just whispering 'Bad' over and over in the back of her mind…

Azreal buried her head in her hands, trying to drown it out. She should have known… There were so many muses coming down that morning, her sense had been going crazy, that's why she'd been so hyper… and, by the same token, part of the reason she was unable to see past her despair now… She _knew _she had to see past it, and think logically, but she couldn't, because… she was stupid. Pathetic. She should've known she couldn't have made it, not being stuck at the half way house between humanity and Muse kind… She couldn't save Wherever, whatever was happening to it, she couldn't even get out of this hole! Man, she was so pathetic. And stupid; stupid for being stuck, stupid for not realising, stupid for hoping she wouldn't die… stupid, stupid, stupid…

Seto watched her, calculating. If he was any judge of these sudden mood swings (Not that he was an expert), this was not just the normal emotional trauma, not for Az, not even for losing her…home. Now, emotional trauma _was _something he knew about, and he was certain this was too much. So, that meant that the shock of having her home town so abruptly cut off was affecting her in more ways then she probably knew herself. So she probably wasn't going to be thinking of escape plans any time soon.

Pity, because, for once, he wasn't sure he could get out of this one alone…

Fortunately, he wasn't.

"Hey, are you guys down there?" Mokuba called from somewhere way, way, above them, along with the beeping of the Chocobo theme that could only come from Azreal's phone.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Yugi stood very still. He couldn't see them, but they were there, one had materialised and told him.

The Game Shop was full of Muses. That, to his eyes, were invisible- except a slight shimmer if he squinted very hard. He toyed with the idea of crossing the shop, all the way from here, behind the counter, to put the closed sign on the door, wondering if he could do so without walking through any of his… guests. He wasn't sure what to call them. It wasn't like he'd been given any choice. They were told that, as he knew about the Muses, they would be seeking temporary sanctuary there. He didn't know how long 'temporary' would be. Nor would they 'authorised' to give any more details.

Yugi slumped over the counter, groaning, thusly cutting Yami off mid-sentence. His friend was convinced that the Muses had some significance. Trying to convince him that a 'magical' entity had nothing to do with him was impossible. Yugi couldn't believe that this was what the summer break was meant for- Working in the shop and arguing with Yami while his grandfather was off on some OAP holiday he'd won on the radio. And now these… refugees. It was his responsibility to deal with all… well, most- of this stuff, but wasn't summer about _escaping _responsibility? Whatever happened to hanging out with Téa and the rest of his friends? Téa… He hardly saw her outside school now… Not since Ryou left, actually. And the time before that was the summer festival. He smiled slightly. Watching the fireworks with his friends, and the unbelievable moment when Téa had reached out and taken his hand…

_Woah, _he thought. _Better stop there. _He had seen it a million times in his head, but in reality, it had been followed by nothing. He and Téa were always 'Just Friends', nothing more. So he was here, in a shop full of invisible people. All that lay ahead was the prospect of working the shop's full hours, even when there was no-one in there. Worse yet, he had weeks of this stretching out ahead of him- it was only Sunday lunchtime… They had to make a living, but…

"I wonder what the others are doing…?" Yugi sighed. It had to be more fun then this, that was for sure… Unless they had got invaded to- after all, he wasn't the _only _one who knew about Muses.

Right on que, Téa burst through the door. She didn't look like she was having more fun. In fact, she looked like she was about to cry as she shut the door behind her and looked at him helplessly.

"…Let's go out the back." Yugi said, instinctively. There had never been a _worse _time, but he would not turn anyone away. "We'll talk out there. In _private_." He added, for the benefit of any Muses behind the shop, as they walked through. He hoped they all had the sense to move out the way as he went to see what this was all about.

The results would be rather…surprising.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Anna had splashed after Seto some time ago, and Mokuba hadn't followed. Heck, whatever they were getting up to, he probably didn't need to see. But they had been gone rather a long time… scratch that, a _very _long time. Doug and Ruby didn't seem too concerned, but Mokuba was. Call it intuition, call it a brother sense, but whatever it was, it wouldn't leave him alone. Seto would never stay in one place for this long, not even with his girlfriend.

However, as no-one else was worried, he needed an excuse to go and look for them, otherwise he'd be told just to leave them to it. Scowling, Mokuba skimmed rocks out over the water. What was he to do…?

And, as if to answer his prayers, Anna's phone, lying on the table, started emitting it's cheery tone. Before anyone else could react, Mokuba grabbed it and ran off in the direction his brother and Ann had headed off in, calling that he'd take it to her even as he stooped down with his free hand to pull off his shoes and roll up his trousers to wade through the waters and take a short cut.

And, all this time, even as he climbed the hill, beginning to wish he'd brought his inhaler as he'd _told_ Seto he had, the phone continued to ring. Whoever was on the other end sure was persistent.

Or desperate.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Joey was under the desk, sorting out the wiring for his computer, when it happened.

Someone pressed the buzzer. Joey jumped in surprise, banging his head on the desk, biting his lip to stop the threatened curse.

As far as anyone was _supposed _to know, Ryou had left. This flat was empty. So why, and who, was knocking on the door? Joey had taken the utmost care not to be found out- he'd just stayed here as it was, sleeping on the sofa on Friday night, and then, on Saturday, he'd waited until his dad was sure to be out to go back and shove some possessions in a rucksack. The plan was to move in bit by bit, so he had only taken what he'd really needed. And, today, he had transported his computer. Which had been easier said then done. But with a little help from Duke, (He wouldn't mind Joey 'borrowing' his car when he was looking the other way… That is, too busy to ask) He'd managed to do it without anyone seeing him, or so he'd thought.

The person pressed the buzzer again impatiently.

"Joseph Wheeler, you'd better get this door open right _now_!"

Joey blinked in surprise, but went to open the door. "Mai…?" He asked.

"Who does it look like?" She sighed, exasperated, sliding past him through the half-open door and inside.

"…How did you know I was here?" Joey said haltingly, trying hard not to think about how close she'd been when she pushed through.

"You told 'Ren, and she told me." Mai said, simply.

"I told her not to tell anyone!" Joey wailed.

"No," She shook a finger at him. "You told her not to tell your mother, because she'd want you to move in with her instead. A good idea. So she didn't tell your mother. She told _me_."

"But…Okay, next question!" Joey sighed, knowing she had him there. "What are you doing here?"

She rolled her eyes, moving inside and plopping down on Ryou's- _his _sofa. "I came to see if you were alright, of course." She raised her eyebrow. "Despite what you seem to think, I'm not completely heartless. I can't tell you how chuffed I was when 'Ren rang and told me you'd left. I've been hoping you would for ages! You've been locked up with that-" Here, the air turned blue "-For far too long!"

He sat down next to her. "Oh… well… thanks for caring…"

"You're welcome." She replied, kissing him. Mai Valentine was _not _known for beating about the bush.

Not that he was complaining. He'd waited long enough… He had hoped for so long… Especially since the summer festival. That had been a good night for them all, when he'd finally summoned up the courage to put an arm around her, when she hadn't pushed him away… But it hadn't come to anything. Until now. Partly, it was worth the wait. Partly, it was terrible that he'd had to wait this long.

And, a few minutes later, when the buzzer went again- unknown to them, a bunch of Muses coming to find somewhere to hide- he didn't go to answer the door.

You could say he was a little preoccupied.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Mokuba!" Seto yelled back, urgently. "We fell down here!"

"I guessed from the big hole in the canopy." Mokuba sounded like we he was laughing. Of course, he didn't know the intensity of the situation. "You need some help?"

"If you'd be so kind." Mokuba laughed harder. "Go back to the camp and get Doug." Seto continued. "He _has _been down here, he must know the way out!"

Surprised at the urgency in his brother's voice, Mokuba nodded, forgetting Seto couldn't see him, and hurried back in the direction of the camp. Anna hadn't said anything… he hoped she wasn't hurt…

Azreal was not _physically _hurt, that was true, bar the malting of her wings; but the events seemed to be clouding her mind. She wasn't herself. And she was no use to Seto like this. He was a man of actions, not of words, but as he was the only one here, he'd have to talk her out of it. But, looking at her snivelling on the ground, while they were effectively stuck in a hole, something was going on with what she evidently still thought of as where she belonged, he was in no mood to be gentle.

"Az." He said, deceptively calm. "Mokuba's getting your dad. He should know a way out of here, and then I'll take you back to Domino, if that's what you need."

She said nothing.

"Az, answer me." He commanded. "Are you listening to a word I'm saying? We're going to get out of here, and then-"

"I heard you." She sniffed, not looking up. "But I don't see the point in leaving. No-one would mind if I stayed down here. And it's not like I could help anyways."

Seto rolled his eyes. Oh, great. So, it was going to be one of _those _moments.

"We don't have time for this!" He snapped. "You still haven't explained what's going on, but if we're going to save your Wherever then you're going to have to stop the mood swings and get on with it!"

"Heh. Why should I? It's not like I could save it anyway. They didn't even like me…"

Seto sighed. He really couldn't deal with this. He needed some way to snap her out of this. Had it been anyone else, he would just have slapped or hit them, perhaps thrown water on them. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, however much she needed it.

So he did the next best thing, kissing her harshly and quickly. When he pulled away, she looked at him in surprise, unconsciously touching her lips as if it had been the first time.

"You've got to get it together." Seto told her, staring her down. "There's work to be done. This isn't you. Okay, sure, you've had… insecurities… before, but this is over the top and we don't have time for this! You want to save the city! Then you need to stop this!" As she opened her mouth to protest, he continued all the faster. "And don't give me that stuff about you not being able to do it! This isn't you, so whatever's getting to you, deal with it fast! I did _not_ learn to love a quitter!"

She stared at him in surprise, but somehow, he could see the determination back. She looked a little confused as to exactly what was going on, but whatever had been gripping her brain had gone. "Seth…"

"Seto? Ann? You okay down there!" Doug called from high above, and Seto stood to answer him and find the exit, leaving Az to compose herself.

She'd need to be careful. It would seem the 'aftershocks' of the city being cut off were still around. She shivered as she remembered how she had been held in the grip of those cold thoughts, what people had been trying to tell her all her life but what she had actually _believed _this time… She had, as Seto had put it, had 'insecurities' but she had never thought that her life was… worthless.

But that was all over now. Seto had dragged her, kicking and screaming, out of it. Those few minutes she'd spent in such despair had been enough. Now, racing through the mental wards she had been taught, normally used when first entering the field to prepare for the effects of being further away from home but useful here, she had her game face on. But what really bothered her was what he'd said…

'I did not learn to love a quitter'. That's what he'd said. _Love _a quitter. But then, did that mean that he actually…

Meanwhile, Seto hadn't spared a second thought to what he'd said, hadn't even realised, as he followed Doug's directions to get them out of there.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A bell rang as someone entered the shop, but Yugi didn't bother to go out, hoping they'd leave. Some things were more important.

There were several signs that something was wrong, and Yugi knew Téa well enough to notice them. For a start, she hadn't rung before coming round, which was normally against everything she believed about manners- she believed dropping round without notice was rude.

Secondly was the fact that, when she had entered, she hadn't greeted him enthusiastically the second she'd set foot through the door. She hadn't even been able to force a smile… Something was _very _wrong.

And now, that they had gone into the living room behind the shop, she had not sat in her favourite place- the arm chair by the radiator and window, where she always sat, choosing instead to sit down next to him on the sofa. Perhaps she was easy to read, but Yugi knew this meant he had some serious comforting to do. He didn't ask what was wrong, despite Yami, sounded worried, pressuring him to do so. He knew Téa would tell them… him… in her own time.

"…I don't know what to do." She chocked out helplessly, after a long silence. It seemed a strange way to begin, but that was why she was here, after all. Yugi had known the second she'd got through the door that something was up. No point building up to it. "I don't know what to do, so… I came here."

Again, Yugi said nothing. She was obviously going to tell him anyway. Why push her? Let her do this on her terms…

"My dance school…" She took a deep, gasping breath. "I didn't get in… on the scholarship." She looked up despairingly. "That means no more dance lessons for Téa."

"No…" Yugi muttered, surprised. Above him, he knew Yami was in equal shock. Téa always moved with such grace, and it always seemed as she lived her life to a soundtrack, that even movement was choreographed to a hidden beat that only she knew. The songs were there, written in her eyes and the way she went about things. That she had not got in… was unthinkable. "What happened?"

Téa shrugged uselessly. "I don't know. It was just everything, and I…" She rubbed her face tiredly. "A better question would be: What am I going to do now? I mean, if I can't even get into the dance school _here_, I have no chance at New York, or Paris, or Moscow, or London or any of the big dance places! And there's no way I can afford to pay for lessons…" She was crying now, having finally given in to the threatening tears. "I think maybe it's time to just give up, you know? It was a pipe dream anyway, I guess, if I'm honest…"

"Don't say that!" Yugi shouted, a little more harshly then intended. Téa blinked in surprise. He smiled at her. "I mean, I have _no _idea why they rejected you, but it doesn't matter! You remember Johnny Steps? And what you said to him? That he shouldn't let one bad audition kill his dream? Téa… you shouldn't ever give up, you know. Grandpa always says that when you cease to dream, you cease to live."

"But…" Téa wobbled. "I have no idea what to do… I just don't know…" Seeking comfort, she went and hugged him. Hesitantly, he hugged her back. With his arms around her, she felt better already. It was silly, but here, with her old friend, she felt nothing would ever hurt again.

Meanwhile, Yugi was in furious debate with his darker half.

/**Yami…? Maybe you should handle this… I mean, it's you she likes, so maybe you'd be more comfort…**/

/_Perhaps. But she didn't come here to see _me. _And I happen to think you're wrong./_

/**Well we have to do _something_!**/

To his surprise, Yami started laughing a little sadly. /_I think you'll suffice./ _He replied, and would say no more even as he watched.

Yugi scowled. Some alter ego he turned out to be. He _still _had to deal with this alone… He knew Téa would not accept money from him outright, she was too proud for that. But maybe…

"Well…" He said, hesitantly. "You could… If you wanted, that is… Well, you could cover some of my shifts here… I mean, don't feel obliged, but the offer's open, so if you want it, it's-"

"Thank you." Téa whispered, pulling away just ever so slightly, so she could straighten her head and look at him. What happened next could not have been more natural, more fluent, but it was still a surprise when she brought her lips up to meet his.

It was even more surprising, even to the boy himself, when he pushed her away. He hurried to explain before she could say anything.

"Téa…" He began, as his other half (Not Yami for once, the other part of _him_) demanded to know what on Earth he was playing at. "Look… You've always made it very clear where we stood. 'Just friends', right?" He gave a ghost of a smile as she looked away, embarrassed. He took her hand, trying to get her to hear him out. "My feelings aside, you've never wanted this. And now, you're upset, and maybe you're not thinking for the best…I don't know. Y'know, I was here, I helped you out, maybe… But I don't want you to do anything you don't really want to, not when you're not thinking right."

Téa suddenly started laughing. Yugi, kind and considerate as ever. "You want to know what I want? Well, until just now, I didn't know myself. I tried to tell myself…Oh, forget it. Yugi, you know as well as I do that we have _never _been 'just friends', despite what we've tried to tell ourselves. Okay? So stop raising hurdles already!"

"…And…what about Yami…?" Yugi asked hesitantly. He didn't want her to make the mistake of thinking they were more or less the same person… He couldn't bear it if she thought he was something he wasn't.

"Yami?" Téa repeated, coming close again. "Now, we really are 'just friends'…"

The friend in question was retreating as far as possible. His hikari needed some privacy, after all. In truth, he was a little disappointed at Téa's choice, but it was by no means unexpected. After all, it was about time those two became an item! And here, at last, was a game he had been beaten at… Love's rules truly were incomprehensible.

But hey, he had already known that. Look at who Kaiba ended up with.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto felt a little foolish when it turned out the valley was stupidly easy to get out of. Due to some natural miracle, where the trees grew the most thickly, the pull of gravity causing them to strain forward, the tops of the roots had surfaced, intertwining into a thick lattice, making it a simple matter of half-walking, half-climbing up. It was steep, but not too strenuous, leading out to the oppisite side of the canyon. And this area was about five paces (Or seven, if you counted with Azreal's smaller stride) away from where they'd stopped looking. If they had gone a little further, then they wouldn't have been stuck down there for so long…

Not that it hadn't been just a little bit nice. Seto almost thought he could still feel the ghostly brush of her feathers on his bare arms, from where her wings had wrapped around him. Harshly, he clamped down on the thoughts. Okay, so, since Azreal he had lightened up a little. Heck, he'd lightened a lot- but now, he was getting sloppy. This would take the relentlessness he'd spent years in, if he was going to help Az to…

That was a point. He still didn't know what was going on. So, as he helped her over the top and finally out, and as they raced down towards the camp, to meet the others where the two banks met, he decided to ask.

Meanwhile, Azreal was deciding that her flip-flops had been a very bad choice of footwear, and suddenly took them off, running barefoot through the wood, ignoring the dirt and mud, stones and thorns, that were digging into her feet as she went.

"Az!" He said, not slowing his pace. She didn't seem to want to go any slower then the fastest she could. "Would you mind explaining what's going on now?"

"I'll tell you when I know." She replied grimly.

"And when will that be?"

"When I make contact with Wherever."

They ran the rest of the way in silence, not even stopping when they passed their respective families.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto was outside, giving some form of vague explanation that mainly consisted of why he and Anna would be leaving momentarily. Meanwhile, Azreal was running round her tent, trying to find something more appropriate in the way of footwear, and grabbing whatever looked like it might come in handy. Mokuba's head appeared at the opening, looking mildly irritated.

"Someone really wants to talk to you." He said, handing over her still-ringing mobile, encased in the sheep fascia. "This is the fifth or sixth time they've called in as many minutes.

"Ta." Anna replied shortly, taking the phone. Now was _so _not the time… "Yes?"

"Anna! At last!" Kaho's voice echoed down the line. "Where have you been? Are you okay?"

"Uh…" She lifted her sleeping bag, looking for the other half of her pair of socks. "That's kind of a long story… But I'm fine, bar, I suspect, the same reason you've been so desperate to contact me."

"…What are we going to do?"

Azreal hesitated. "…Where are you?"

"Outside your house! I was kinda hoping you'd be back…"

"Look, Seto and I are on our way back, and we might need your help. Find the others to, okay? All the ones who were involved with me the first time round- I have this feeling they'll be needed… I'll be with you as soon as I can!" She hung up, ramming the phone into a pocket. She was about to leave the tent, her time gone, when she saw her old, bedraggled, cuddly lamb lying belatedly in the corner of the tent. Imaginatively named Lamby, he'd been a last minute edition to her packing- She rarely looked at him any more, but she'd had him as long as she could remember and before; she couldn't stand to leave him behind from this trip. Even though her time was spent, she turned and grabbed the old plushie, hugging it. But now that she looked, she could see that his fur was turning hard from age, that his face was greying slightly, and a number of mysterious stains, including a patch of ancient, dried up soap. She wrinkled her nose. Lamby needed a bath.

"I promise," She whispered to it. "That I'll wash you the second we're back at the house."

"Touching." Seto drawled out from behind her. She turned, surprised- she hadn't noticed him come in. Even as his voice teased, his face was serious. Whatever was going on with Wherever, he got the impression it needed to be dealt with fast. "Are you ready?"

She followed him out the tent, trying to be light-hearted as they passed his. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

Seto forced a smirk. "I might." He replied, pushing the flap of his own tent just enough for her to see.

In the corner of his tent, placed reverently on top of his bag, was Blusie.

"Now," Seto said. "I believe you're quite anxious to leave."

They climbed into his car, and he drove them back in the direction they'd come just the day before, wishing they hadn't come quite as far. By the time they reached Domino, it would be about half past six in the evening, but there was no question of waiting till the next day. It would be a long, tense journey, with none of the excitement of the last time.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Duke had somehow got Kaho's number, but, by the same token, she had his. He picked it up almost straight away, yelling something about wanting his car returned _right now_. Kaho didn't bother to ask, this was an emergency.

"Duke! Something's gone wrong with Wherever and Anna needs our help!"

"Kaho!" He yelled. "It's you! Man, I'm sorry, I thought-"

"Never mind that!" She replied, unusually abrasive. "Just met me at the Game shop, okay?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The forest could not even be called that, a small group of trees hidden behind a Church in a bad area, small enough to walk through in five minutes, large enough to hide in. And yet, despite it's location, nothing had been done to harm the trees- and, although there was defiantly 'something about it', there had to be some truth in the rumours. It was supposed to be haunted, or guarded, by some kind of spirit, hovering just on the edge of visibility, who appeared only to those with bad intentions- and yet, somehow directing everything away from the centre. It only took five minutes to walk through, but hardly anyone had, always coming out where they'd started. This, naturally, made people more determined then ever, but they never succeeded. If anyone did, they kept quiet.

But soon… The one she'd been waiting for would come. She could taste the anticipation. The Guardian climbed to the optimum spot, waiting patiently. She knew not the form, but this was it. Something big was going to happen here, soon…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Yami?" Téa repeated, coming close again. "Now, we really are 'just friends'…"

Kaho burst through the door, calling to him. "Yugi! Where- Oh, there you are!" She saw him, and Téa looking at her with very odd expressions. She had been rather surprised to see the shop full of Muses, but had managed to get some sort of picture of what was going on from them, although she hadn't yet contacted Anna. Instead, when Yugi still hadn't appeared in the Shop, she had burst in here, hair wild and eyes wider, apparently catching them at the crucial moment. Oops. Oh well.

"Yugi!" She repeated. "Téa! Wherever's falling into the Nothing and all the Muses are here and Anna's on her way to back to try and do something and she needs our help!" She dashed out again.

Yugi and Téa regarded each other helplessly, slightly taken aback by the normally calm, shy Kaho acting such a way, and more so at the interruption.

"We ought to go…" Yugi ventured, after a slight pause.

Téa sighed ruefully, getting to her feet. "Well, never let it be said that we let a friend down. Come on, Yugi. It's been a while since you've saved anyone."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It had taken Azreal and her family six hours to get to the campsite, including the hour they'd spent lost.

Take that away, add in a few shortcuts Seto had never taken before, but was sure would work, you had about four and a half hours.

So Seto was determined to do it in three at most. Two, if he felt particularly rebellious, which, to Az's relief, wasn't quite yet. Let's just say she was glad the car had airbags.

"So," He began, eyes glued to the road ahead. "What are we going to do?"

"Make contact with Wherever." Azreal answered nervously. The scale of that alone was beginning to hit her.

"And then?"

"And then… we help." She shrugged.

"Okay, _how _are we going to contact Wherever?" Seto demanded. He wanted to know exactly what he was doing before he jumped headfirst into it. "If it was just a telephone call, I doubt you'd want to go all the way back to Domino."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologise, just explain!"

Feeling just like she was ten years old and back at school again, Azreal answered the question, unknowingly reciting almost word for word what she'd written all those years ago in her exercise book. "There are three main ways in and out of Wherever. The most common way is by Porthole, which are simply temporary path ways between Earth and a city, set up by Technicians at each end; the benefit being you can make one from anywhere to anywhere with relatively low cost, but it's quite skilled to do, so it is required as part of the training programme for Technicians."

"I'm assuming you didn't have that training." Seto interrupted.

"No, I don't. And we don't have anyone at the other end." Azreal replied.

"Then it's not a viable method for us." He stated. He'd always hated time wasters and 'blather', and he was wondering why she had wasted time telling him about how they _couldn't _go.  
"Right, so, the second way is a Perm'hole." Azreal continued, oblivious. "Which is a very imaginative name for a Permanent porthole. Which is exactly what it sounds like- sometimes, after a Porthole is taken down, it leaves some of the connection left behind; it leaves a fragment. Unfortunately, they're very unpredictable, and are said to never come out in the same place. Also, they're not as permanent as they may seem- they do have a tendency to drop you off half way." She paused. "However, some people… Criminals, mostly… take the risk and come out alright, so if I have to…"

"And you'd want to risk it because…?" Seto's mind jumped to a conclusion almost before she did. "Because, on however false terms, you _are _an exile and may not be welcomed with open arms?" He finished.

She smiled sheepishly. "Pretty much, yeah. There are two Perm'holes that I know of- One is so strong, it made me go a little weird just by being near it. It's our safest bet- unfortunately, it's in the middle of the ocean on the other side of Japan. The other one I know of is…" She hesitated again. She hadn't realised then, but "In your house."

Realisation dawned on Seto. "The doors?"

She nodded. "The doors."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+_Flashback_-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_She had found a seldom-used room which contained only a thread-bare sofa, which she was now sitting cross-legged on. However, the room had large French doors which lead onto a small- perhaps only a metre and a half out- balcony, which seemed to be directly over the dilapidated rose garden. Azreal had thrown these doors wide open, and the faint scent of dying roses reached and relaxed her. Had her eyes been open, from the position she was in Azreal would have seen a spattering of stars, half hidden by clouds. But the moon was bright and silver as metal, so it gave an eerie sort of twilight to the room. _

_The light was made even stranger by the doors themselves. Evidently once the room's crowning glory, the doors were made of an intricate stained glass, in all the colours of the rainbow. On close inspection, these doors had more then just random squares of coloured glass. There was a fantasy world depicted on the doors, that showed a dragon flying majestically up through some clouds, with creatures swirling up and around and below him, centaurs and unicorns, fairies, Sprites, pixies… As the moon light hit the doors and flowed through them, it transformed into colours spreading over the floor, as if the world shown on the doors was having it's very own Northern Lights._

_You can see why Azreal had wasted so much time here, but also why she had chosen it. The whole room had the feeling of forgotten beauty and hidden secrets to it, especially in the quiet of the night. However, it seemed as though this room kept and maintained a prolonged silence, holding it's breath for some kind of climax. And Azreal knew that when the climax came it would be something wonderful and miraculous. She could almost feel the creatures of that world around her and if not exactly welcoming her, that they were accepting her and wishing her luck._

_For the past few minutes, or hours, or days, Azreal had sat so still and quiet that it was almost as if she was made of glass herself. When she felt herself completely relaxed, she stood, walked across the room and touched each pane of the oddly cool glass in turn. She wasn't naturally superstitious, but it sure seemed as though they were watching her, so she might just as well acknowledge their presence._

_"Wish me luck." She whispered, her voice sounding odd in the curiously muffled air._

-+-+-+-+-+-+- _End Flashback_+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto swallowed. There was something inside him that wasn't quite up for trying to open half a porthole in a set of doors he'd never liked. "You said there were three ways. What's the third?"

"The chutes." Azreal sighed. "They're like they sound- the _real _permanent links. But they're slow, expensive to run and a lot of them have been decommissioned now. Old fashioned, really- They're what we had before the Portholes, you see. The first ones were made right after we left Earth; in almost temple like things where people could seek us if they really needed us, without all our paper work. But, you know, Humans don't really believe in all the guardian spirit stuff anymore, so they're never used. They must have cut all the chutes off anyways, it's through them that I could still sense Wherever's presence…" She didn't bother to add that, should Kaho manage to gather everyone, she might just be able to re-open one.

Seto was beginning to wonder if it was a good idea to go up to a place that seemed to be having such huge problems, but let it lie. Azreal wouldn't heed any words he had, anyway. He almost wished there _was _such a thing as a 'Guardian Spirit'- goodness knows he could use one from time to time…

But not to worry. There was one waiting for them.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Joey, would you open the door!" Yugi yelled in frustration. Hastily, Joey did so- he didn't want the rest of the building to know he was here, after all. Unfortunately, he opened the door to Yugi, Duke, Téa, and Anna's friend… Kaho Bijou, if he remembered rightly.

"How did you know I was here?" He demanded.

"My car was parked outside." Duke remarked dryly.

"Oh, yeah, about that…"

"Actually," Yugi interrupted. "Téa told us."

She shrank from his glare. "Hey, we needed to find you! Besides, Mai told me!"

Joey whacked his head off the doorframe. "So everyone knows I'm here?"

"Uh…Tristan doesn't." Yugi tried to console his friend.

"Actually, he does." Duke replied, raising a hand. "I called him to meet us here. How was I supposed to know it was a secret?"

"Well, I guess it's just Anna, then…" Yugi concluded, sheepishly.

"No, Anna knows." Mai answered, appearing from the front room and ignoring the questioning glances being thrown at them. "I was chatting to her on the phone yesterday, to invite her to my party next week."

Joey groaned. "So much for keeping a secret… is there anyone else?"

"No." Mai promised. "Except… well, I think maybe Kaiba knows to."

"_What!"_

"Hey, calm down, hun!" She tried. "Maybe he doesn't! All I know is, he was speaking in the background… Maybe he didn't catch on to what we were talking about…"

"That doesn't matter now!" Kaho surprised them all by shouting. "Joey, Mai, Wherever's sinking into the Nothing and Anna needs our help and I think she's going to try and open a porthole so she needs everyone that was involved in her last case!"

Joey blinked. "Well, I wish you luck with that, though I doubt you'll be able to do it."

"Why?" Kaho felt her heart snaking down her arms and making her fingers tingle.

"Because Ryou's on the other side of the world."

Oh, yeah. That would be the flaw in the plan.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"_Stop_!"

Seto slammed down on the brake, and they skidded to a halt. Azreal sighed deeply. He looked at her.

"What's the matter?" He asked, slightly annoyed at the fright she had given him. He didn't want to stop here, of all places… This was the roughest part of town, right on the outskirts of Domino. Once upon a time, it had been a nice estate. He and his parents had walked through the park there often. But those times were gone, and he always made a point of locking the car when he drove through.

"I think we can make a porthole here instead!" She yelped, unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing out the door, running across the road and out of his line of vision. More sedately, filled with dread, Seto clambered out, closed and locked his car, and turned to see where she had run to.

His hands clenched themselves unconsciously. _No… _He stared at the little Church, as though hoping it would turn out to be a mirage. _Not here. Not here._

"Seto?" She called from the doors of the Church. "Is something wrong?"

"No." He lied. The sounds of a hymn reached him. So, even now, they were still holding a morning and an evening service. Amazing. But he didn't want to be here…

"Just wait here," Azreal instructed. "I need to talk to someone." She disappeared round the side of the building.

Seto glared at the Church. He didn't want to be here. But here he was, and if he had to… He would.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Well and the other teens at the Church stood, uncertain. The Muses had been respectful as possible, and instead of going in the Main Church, had come out to the back rooms with the Youth. Apparently, there had not been enough people who knew about them to hide with, so they were seeking sanctuary in Religious Places. Many of them were solid, and chatting to them quite happily- they seemed very interested in what they had to say.

"Muses were still on Earth's Surface when Jesus was around, that's how we know about him." One was saying, looking at them curiously. "There's a lot of Christians- a lot more of other religions, mind you, but they're still there- on Wherever. But I always wondered if, you know, God and Jesus and all that really applied to Muses."

"We-ell…" Well began awkwardly. He was fairly sure when people talked about Evangelising, this wasn't exactly what they had in mind… He was saved from answering by the fire escape at the back of the room bursting open.

"Well! Guys!" Anna yelled, entering. Wasn't she supposed to be on holiday…? "I really need your…help…" She trailed off, seeing the room was full of Muses, who weren't too pleased to see her.

"Isn't that the Kiyoko girl…?"

"I thought she died in hospital!"

"That was just her mother covering up for her! I _told _you she'd been exiled!"

Azreal paled. If they knew she was here, it was only a matter of seconds before…

"I bet _she _was the one who set the Nothing on Wherever!"

"To get revenge!"

"I knew she was twisted!"

Azreal decided to try, even though she knew there was no point. "Oh, come on. How am I supposed to control Nothing?"

There was a slight pause.

"She's a witch!" An old Muse cried.

"I always knew she was!"

"I said there was some'in strange about her…"

"It's because she's half human!"

"She's a Witch!" The same old, hysterical Muse cried. "Now that's she scattered us all, she'll pick us off one by one!"

Azreal rolled her eyes. People just got worse and worse as they got older…

"Anna…?" Well began uncertainly.

"Well, I-" Azreal started, interrupted by a cry of 'Get her! Now! While she's distracted!'. "Oh, crud…"

She bolted through the door, pushing through the room and out into the corridor. The Muses quickly gave chase. No way could she stand up to this lot!

"This is a House of God!" She tried, still running. In the Church proper, the Evening Service continued unknowingly. "House of God House of God House of God House of God _House of God_!"

But they paid her no heed as they backed her into a corner.

"_Stop!_" Well commanded. "Or, well, I'll have you all chucked out by your, well, ears!"

They all stopped, considering.

"I will!" He insisted.

"Well, just make sure she doesn't get away…" The old one grumbled as Well's friends herded them all into the room they'd come from.

"Well…" Well began. "What's this favour you're asking?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When Azreal re-appeared a few moments later, with six young Christians in tow, she found Kaho and the others waiting for them.

"How did you…?" She began.

"You're not the only one who can sense the vibes coming off this place." Kaho replied, jerking her head in the direction of the thicket. "I figured you'd come here."

"There are, well, rumours…" Well said tentatively. "They say that, there's, well, a, well, Spirit of some sort in there."

They all looked at Azreal questioningly at the number of 'Well's in the sentence. She shrugged.

"But we don't, well, believe that!" Well finished cheerily. "It seems that, well, when you go in, you, well, come out on the same side. Well, I think they must all be getting lost, because- Well, we've been to the middle of the trees! Not that it's, well, very interesting…"

"Why?" Azreal demanded. "What's in there?"

"Ruins." One of the girls piped up. "Ruins, of some old shrine or something."

Bingo.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"This is our stop." Opal piped up, scaring them all half to death. It was a long ride from Kyoto to Tokyo, and she hadn't said a word. Somehow, although she was grieving, she hadn't cried- just become more withdrawn then ever, and it wasn't healthy.

They climbed off, walking in silence to where Azreal- No, Anna, lived with the other half of her family. Ruby and Emerald walked up the path quite confidently, but Millierie and Opal hung back.

"Mom?" Emerald questioned.

"…Perhaps it's best if I waited around the corner." She said, walking off to do just that. Silently, Opal went with her, but Millierie hardly noticed. It really was for the best. In truth, she just didn't want to see Doug- or his new family. It was too painful, to know that they weren't married any more. Besides, what was she even supposed to say to him? 'Hi, it's been a really long thirteen years, hasn't it? Goodness, you haven't aged a day! Anyway, can I speak to our daughter please? I've just gone against the government and now I'm on the run- funny old world, isn't it?- but I want to make sure she doesn't do the same thing'?

Yeah, right. And even if she _had _spoken to Azreal, what was she supposed to say? In sixteen years, she'd barely spoken to the girl- it hurt them both so much, but they were practically strangers. She hated the fact so much… If only she'd had time to get to know her a little better… If only she could have taken Doug back to Wherever with her… if only, if only… so many regrets…

Millierie didn't even realise she was crying until, wordlessly, Opal hugged her, and they cried together.

As it turned out, the Mitsan's weren't home.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Kaho and Azreal glanced at each other. If there was a Shrine in the woods, it would certainly make sense if it was towards the Muses- it would explain why the trees had grown around it, why it was here, amidst the concrete that nature flourished.

It would also mean a disused chute, meaning an entrance into Wherever.

"I guess this would give me a chance to find out what's going on…" Azreal voiced. "Let's go."

"Wait just a second!" Yugi cried. "Would you mind explaining what's going on!"

Azreal turned and regarded them all. How much had changed between them all since she'd first arrived! There was Joey, who had once been just another case; Seto, just a tool for her to use to aid her. Téa, who had been caught in the crossfire with Ryou; and Mai and Duke, who had involved themselves. There was Yugi and Tristan, who had just used the entire affair as an opportunity to have fun. But now, this was not fun. This was something else. Now, they, with the edition of Kaho, were the only, and best friends, she'd ever had. It was a true testimony to them that they had come out here with little or no explanation as to the rhyme and reason of it all. Yet, here they were.

And, somehow, deep in her heart of hearts, she knew that this was, in her own way, a hope that maybe, just once before she went, she could help. That was why she wanted to go and find out what was going on. Yes, a lot of it was a concern for her family, but there was still some small, selfish part that still wanted the acceptance she thought she'd left behind.

"Anna." Kaho said, having, on her zoning out, filled them in on her behalf. "Let's go. And… If it'll be any use, I don't mind standing in for Ryou."

Azreal nodded. "Thanks. I'll be there in a minute."

Kaho nodded in response, and, leading for once in her life, took the group into the band of trees, so only Azreal, Seto, and the ones she'd pulled out of Church remained.

"Well, you want us to look out for you?" Well asked, arms folded.

"Please." Azreal replied, nerves causing her monotony. "Stop anyone coming into the woods." Then, as an afterthought, she put: "Especially a blond guy. About so tall. He looks innocent, but he's really not."

He smiled. "Well… I don't quite understand what's going on, but it's, well, important to you, so, well, good luck!" He hugged her. Seto looked on, keeping his expression carefully blank. He was a little taken aback when Well hugged him to, not at all deterred by the fact Seto stood as stiff as a board. "May God go with you! You, well, look after each other, okay?"

Azreal said nothing as Seto managed to pull away. He nodded and began to walk away as Well gathered his friends.

"Joseph! Ryan! Danielle! Bethany! Maria!" He shouted. "Let's go!"

"Right!" They replied, fanning out.

Azreal began to approach the thicket, but then saw Seto was standing on the other side of the Church Graveyard, where it curved round the back of the building, in the shade of the small spire, and went to see what was holding his attention.

At first, it just appeared that it was a traditional hedgerow, bushy, green, and overgrown. Wild flowers peeped out in some of the gaps, as they grew hither and thither into the hedge, but on closer inspection, there were stones laid there, alone, far from the others. She felt twinges of sadness when she saw how uncared for they were… Grass, weeds and moss had grown around and over them, chocking whatever imitation of life they'd had out of them; absorbing them into the unification of the hedge. But they were there, hidden from the living world.

"Who…?" She began, but Seto interrupted her with the answer he'd been half expecting.

"Az." He said, flatly, with a twisted smirk on his face. "Meet my parents."

She gasped, though, somehow, at the very back of her mind, she had known that was what he would say. She didn't know what to do, but her hand seemed to have a mind of it's own as it took hold of his.

"I haven't been here since they were buried." Seto commented. "I never thought I would. You can tell."

"So you haven't ever… Mokuba hasn't…"

Seto shook his head. "No. The Orphanage didn't let you, and Gozaburo certainly didn't. And after that… I'd just stopped wanting to. Because I knew it would remind me…" He looked at her. She was staring down at the overgrown grass around her ankles, and looked up in surprise at his next sentence. "But then I met you. And I remembered anyway."

She gaped at him. "What…?"

"I knew that if I came here, they'd remind me of who I used to be, so to speak." Seto stated. "I didn't want to remember how life could be. After all, if you allow yourself to feel things, you can feel sorrow, regret… Heh. I could avoid coming here, but stopping you was like turning back the tides. I could help…feeling… when I was with you. And mostly, I haven't wanted to." He slipped his hand out of hers. "In short, let's leave the dead to rot and concern ourselves with the living. So, let's go and help this city of yours." He walked away, but Azreal stood for a moment, contemplating.

Slowly, she knelt down into the grass that the lawnmower so obvious missed, and began clearing a few of the weeds and grass from the stones. She had no time, nor the will to do a proper job, but she could spare a moment. Somewhere above her, a bird was singing half-heartedly, as though it knew it couldn't compete with the oppressive atmosphere of this grey place. And, though they could not hear her, Azreal talked as she worked.

"I never knew you…" She whispered. "But, I bet you would be proud of Seto, really… Okay, so he's not the most _sociable _of people, but he's getting the courage to come out again. He's getting better, I'm sure. And he's smart, and funny, and once he loosens up a little… Well, you'd be proud to have some sort of relation to him. I am." She added softly.

"Azreal! Come on!" Seto yelled from the other side of the Church yard. She grinned.

"Yup, still got some work to do on the abrasiveness." She commented. "But don't worry. He'll be just fine."

She stood, attempted to brush the grass stains off her knees, and ran over to join him.

It was time to do what they'd come here for.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: Uh, yeah, some cameos in there… Lamby exists, for instance. And yes, I've really had him that long, and he really does look like that. Or did. See, my mom needed him for the 'Nursery Rhyme' parade at school, so I dug him out and saw how mucky he was… I wrote that bit when I was feeling guilty at the state of him! So I left him in the bathroom to wash as soon as I got chance, and then I found him clean- my mom had seen him there and done it for me! And the reason of saying all that was just to show how much my mom rocks. Heh. The other cameos know who they are, not that they even read this! Whatever. So, yeah, not much happened in this chapter, but hopefully finally getting some pairings in properly made it more interesting… It's taken long enough… though, maybe it was a bit rushed…

So, yeah, not much happened in this chapter, but hopefully finally getting some pairings in properly made it more interesting… It's taken long enough… though, maybe it was a bit rushed…

Poor, poor, Yugi and Téa. I should really take pity on them once in a while… But it was either that or have her catch them actually kissing… XD

Review Responses:

**Willowwind: **Stalling, was I! Well, then how- Oh, never mind... I believe we already 'discussed' this. And came to the conclusion that the Filing cabinet thing was cool. :D And as for the seeming a little like Az, that's kinda what I was shooting for... I always thought she was more like her dad, though. Hmm.

**Dragonlady222: **Ah, howI enjoy your reviews! It makes me feel kinda guilty that I can't update more frequently... Heh... As for her family, they'll make a brief apperance across the next few chapters, but not too much, I'm afraid...

And that's it! Oh, actually- I'm going on a trip for a week from the 21st. I SHOULD, school willing, be able to post again before that, but that's a heads up just in case… And now, it's high time I saved this and finally posted it! TTFN!


	25. Of Things Past and Present

A/N: At last, I'm back! The trip was hard work but great fun, but it was nice to come back to this! So, without further ado…

Disclaimer: I think, if you are reading a YGO fanfic, it's fairly clear what I own and what I do not!

Oooh, no need to type review responses anymore… It feels so odd… Anyhoo, the chapter! Here it is! Number 23 already! As we say in Brum, Blummin' 'eck!

Twenty-Three: Of Things Past and Present

A scream of brakes.

"Millierie!"

Instantly, the woman and her daughter flew apart. They were both in human form now, in view by all, but this voice was one that could have seen them anyway, one that she hadn't heard in a very long time, one that she did not know how to reply to. Doug had stopped his car next to them, and was standing outside the door. He didn't seem too bothered about seeing her. She would soon realise it was because there were more important things at stake. "Have you seen Anna?" He demanded.

Millierie snapped back to the present. "She's gone?" She answered. He nodded.

"Yes! She said something about there being something wrong with Wherever and then she left!"

"With my brother!" A dark-haired boy added from the back, presumably the younger Kaiba. Also in the car, Millierie realised, were Doug's new wife and child… No, not his 'new' anything. She was just 'old' news. Doug had moved on.

It was strange, how times could change. So many happy memories, so many good times… But they were gone. She whished she could go back, but she could not. This woman was Doug's wife, not her.

"Millierie!" Doug repeated, when she began zoning out. "Do you have any idea where she is?"  
"Probably about to do something stupid." Opal snorted from behind her. "But, if I were you, I'd head over that way." She pointed in a random direction, to where some high-rises were looming over the tops of the buildings, looking about ready to topple down on them.

"Why there?" Doug's wife asked as Ruby and Emerald reappeared, looking quizzical.

"Because, from the feel of things, someone's attempting to open a disused chute to Wherever."

Oh dear.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

She stood, attempted to brush the grass stains off her knees, and ran over to join him.

It was time to do what they'd come here for. And then someone screamed.

It could not be said that once the scream had gone it left an eerie silence, because that was all there ever was in this area. But the scream had been intrusive; it hadn't belonged, and had been cut off abruptly. Well and the others glanced round in unease. Someone was in trouble, and if Anna, who had frozen at the sound, wasn't capable of doing anything, he'd have to step in and do it himself…

"That sounded like Joey." She said, worried.

Seto said nothing, but followed as she ran, heart pounding, into the clump of trees. He knew her heart was pounding because of the way her breathing was fast and shallow, scared. It was strange, but before her, he would not have been able to relate to that feeling…

Before him, she stopped dead again, observing what lay ahead. It would have been comical, had it not also been slightly, almost… Not scary. He didn't get scared. But it was a little…unnerving.

Around them, the others had stopped more or less where they were, half-crouching, as though they were a second away from hiding in the sparse undergrowth completely. Or as if they had got half way on instinct and had forgotten half way through. Not a pair of eyes glanced at them for more then a second, fixed ahead.

Kaho was slightly further forward then the others, standing before Joey, who was on the ground not looking to happy. It was clear why- he had a hand to his shoulder, but small amounts of blood were trickling over his fingers. He had been lucky- embedded in the tree behind him was the offending arrow. It had just grazed him as it passed. But Kaho's gaze was flitting, all around the trees that surrounded them, and it was obvious that she could not find the unknown assailant. That's why the others were as they were- they had all frozen. Not sure what to do, not sure weather to go out there and grab them, not sure if the trees would shoot again. Nothing moved. Stalemate.

"What's going on?" Azreal whispered to Yugi, who was next to her. He turned to face her with worried, serious eyes. He looked so different, the expression didn't suit him; but it was more then that. And, judging by what she'd discovered on one of her many night time raids of the 'interesting' files, she knew exactly what- or who- it was.

"We're not entirely sure." He admitted, looking at her with equal suspicion. She didn't mind too much. He knew exactly what she was, but what he made of that was for him and his host to deal with. Besides, it's importance faded in comparison to the other goings on. "We were heading toward the centre and… You can see the rest."

"Did they miss on purpose?" Seto asked, not bothering with a sarcastic or derogatory statement right now, or the wish that the arrow had hit a _little _further to the left. Now was not the time. And the only way there _would _be time was if he got them out of this situation alive.

One thing Seto Kaiba knew about was hostile situations. And there was a perfectly good reason why he no longer felt the need to cart bodyguards around with him. And, in his organisation, and in his life, anything that wasn't needed to survive wasn't wanted. With the possible exception of two people. But that didn't matter. This person had been expecting them, or someone. Seto thoughts were running through his head so fast that it gave him just enough time to register them before the next one showed up. If they had been shooting to hit, then he had no doubt that they would have done- they certainly had the time to aim better. And, if, by some freak accident, they had indeed miss, they would have surely attempted it again.

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked him, anxiously.

"They haven't shot again." Seto pointed out. "So, that leaves us with two possible solutions. Either they have some reason to kill Wheeler but won't risk hitting Bijou, or more likely, that was our warning shot- they want us out of here."

"Well…" Azreal swallowed nervously. "I really hope it's the first one." They all looked at her indcredously. Why would she want someone to be trying to kill Joey…? "Because then I _won't _be running out to my death."

Seto realised what she was going to do a moment before she did it. "Az!" He yelled. "Don't even _consider_-" But even as he spoke, she was standing and running out to where Kaho and Joey were now pressed up against a tree.

"I bet it's really exhausting to date that girl…" Duke muttered.

"You don't know the half of it." Seto replied wryly, alert and ready to shoot out at the slightest hint of trouble.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"That's looking great!"_

_Doug leapt up, startled, slamming his sketch book shut as he went. But he couldn't see who had spoken. There was a tree behind him, they couldn't have snuck up on him, he should have seen them coming!_

_But as he turned frantically, his art pad was whipped from his hands. He looked up, and there, hanging upside down from a low branch of the tree just above him, was a woman, who's age he could not guess- not old, but certainly too old to be hanging upside down in a tree, with sandy blond hair falling around her head. Of course, this was probably due to gravity. He didn't know what it was like normally. But now, still upside down, she was flicking through his book._

_"They're _all_ so great!" She enthused. " But…" She added, looking slightly put out. "Why aren't any of them finished?"_

_Doug pulled the book back out of her hands. "Would you come down here?" He asked, irritated. "Before you fall down!"_

_"I won't fall!" She assured him, waving her arms. But it seemed she tried to wave her legs to, as she promptly let go and fell down._

_"Ow…" She muttered, pulling her face about of the grass. "Right. No wings…"_

_"What?" Doug asked, helping her up despite himself._

_"Nothing!" She replied. "So, why?"_

_"Why what?"_

_"Why don't they have faces?"_

_Doug didn't answer. They didn't have faces because he couldn't make anyone feel real anymore. They all just seemed… Plastic. He couldn't get any emotion into them anymore. But now, this beautiful woman was looking at him so curiously, he couldn't say that! She'd probably been a cheerleader back at High School, and then got some sort of honours at University. He was still stacking shelves in supermarkets. Everyone had told him he had the brains and talent to go and get a degree, become a doctor or something sensible, but no- he had been sure drawing was his real skill. And now he couldn't even do that anymore. His last show had made him enough money to live on for about a year. But now he couldn't even draw faces. His book was full of faceless, soulless people. He couldn't admit that to some completely random person who had fallen out of a tree onto him! Why was it any business of hers anyway!_

_"I like them like that!" He said, fiercely._

_"Liar." She snorted. "I'm Millierie Kiyoko."_

_"And I'm late for work!" Doug realised suddenly. "It was…interesting, Miss Kiyoko…"_

_"Call me Millierie!"_

_"Okay, okay!" He pacified. "Millierie."_

_"No, call me _Millie_!" She yelled. "I hate my full name!"_

_"Fine, sorry… Millie. But didn't you just say…"_

_"Millie!"_

_"Yeah. Bye now!"_

_He left, hoping he would never see that nutter again. He was glad he hadn't told her his name._

_And yet, on his tea break, he found himself drawing another picture. This person had a face. And he knew exactly who's it was. One thing was certain- this 'Millie' freak had an interesting face to draw._

_He never thought he'd some day end up married to that freak. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You okay?" Azreal asked, crouching down by Kaho and Joey, having successfully crossed the small distance between them without being impaled. Kaho nodded, and Azreal turned her full attention to Joey.

"Just a scratch." He shrugged, standing up and letting his arm fall limp to his side. He was right- it had looked worse from a distance. The wound was already congealing slightly, but it was likely to be tender for a few weeks. "I was mainly surprised at being fired at." He confessed. Azreal and Kaho stood to, and she, happy with this, went to check out the arrow, still embedded in the tree.

It was the most bizarre arrow she had ever seen in her life; not that she'd come across many. It was like something from Doctor Seuss, not crossbow bolt, nor traditional wood or metal; it wasn't even a crude, handmade one from the trees around them.

This arrow was made almost entirely out of stationary.

Azreal began to wonder if the person _had _been intending to miss after all. An arrow with a flight made of brightly coloured fake art feathers couldn't be all that accurate. The shaft was made of a variety of pens and pencils in many colours, held together with everything from blue tack, bent paper clips, elastic bands and a whole load of masking tape. The head seemed to be the only worrying part, but, as Azreal pulled it out of the tree, it became clear that it was, in fact, several sharpened geometry triangles connected together with yet more blue tack.

Azreal looked at it disbelievingly. Only in her life… "What the…?" She blinked. Frowning, she snapped it in half. It wasn't hard to do. Then, she turned, searching for the unseen assailant, hidden in the trees somewhere.

"If you're going to shoot again." She commanded into the silence of the forest, sounding scarily like Seto. "Do it now. It takes a long time to bleed to death from a paper cut, after all."

For a moment, nothing moved. Then, a branch began to rustle and move on one of the trees. Someone, or something, was about to emerge.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"What do you mean, you won't let us pass!"

"Millierie, calm down…" Doug told her. "I'm sure we can sort this out…"

"Well, I'm sorry…" One of the kids stopping them said. "But, we're, well, doing a favour for a friend. And, well, that means you have to well, stay out!" Well shuffled uncomfortably. He didn't want to stop these people. He didn't know why they wanted to be in the wood- he wasn't even sure what Anna was doing in there- but she had asked that no-one be allowed in, and Well had never let a friend down yet. He had no idea what was going on, really- sometimes he just got the feeling his life was flowing away in random directions and he was just being carried along with it. But, still, never let it be said that he had broken a promise. "I can't, well, break a promise!"

"Look, kid…" Ruby, worried for her sister, put in. "We're not going to vandalise it, or anything, okay? So just let us in!"

"A promise, is, well, a promise!"

"This is stupid!" Millierie protested. "We asked nicely, now go past him!"

"Can you, well, get past all of us?" Well asked, perfectly politely, as his friends came over to stand by him.

Opal, who had been even more quiet then usual, for obvious reasons, suddenly spoke up. "The person you made the promise to. Would it, by any chance, be Azr- uh, Anna?"

"Anna Mitsan?" Doug added.

Well blinked. "Well, yes… how do you know her?"

"I'm her mother!" Millierie declared.

"And I'm her father!" Doug added hastily.

"Yeah, we're her sisters." Emerald assured him, gesturing at herself, Ruby and Opal. "And he's her brother." She said, pointing at James. "All half, not that it matters!"

"I'm her dad's husband." The other Ruby informed him when he looked at her.

"I'm her boyfriend's brother." Mokuba said, feeling slightly silly.

Well dithered, not sure weather to let them pass or not. He didn't know if this really was her… extended family, or not. And Anna obviously hadn't wanted anyone to follow her…

"Well…"

"Well, this is silly!" Millierie put in. "They can't get all of us!" As one, the group moved off into the small group of trees, the Christians running after them, yelling at them to stop.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Hey!" _

_Doug jumped out of his skin. "Millierie! What are you doing here!"_

_She grinned. "I came to see you! Have you done any more drawing?"_

_Doug frowned. His friend was encouraging to the point of being overbearing. And, all the months he had known her, he'd never seen her tired. Being friends with her certainly was exhausting… "Millie, I'm working…" He said, placing another tin of baked beans onto the shelf, very slowly and reverently, to prove the point. _

_"Oh!" She said, cheerily. "Here, I'll help!" She picked up several cans._

_"Millie, no! You don't have to-!" He was interrupted by a loud crashing sound as all the tins crashed to the floor. But gravity wasn't done yet. As Millierie went to grab the falling tins, she knocked hard into the shelf with such force that it wobbled…_

_Wobbled…_

_And toppled over._

_The worse part was, it hit the shelf in the next aisle, and the next. Luckily, that one hit the freezer section, which stood firm. When the crashes eventually came to a stop, the supermarket seemed eerily silent._

_"Are you alright?" Doug asked Millie, tight-lipped as he stood. He'd been crouching, trying to shield them both as much as possible._

_"Fine…" Millierie said, shame-faced, picking herself up. All around them, groaning, customers were doing the same thing. "Doug, I'm sorry, it was-"_

_"Save it." He told her testily. And then, came the call. He'd known it would come the second the first shelf fell, but boy, they acted fast…_

_"Will Doug Mitsan please come to the manager's office?" The voice announced, not sounding too happy. "Doug Mitsan, to the manager's office! We would like to apologise to all customers for the disruption and ask that you remain calm- a member of staff will be with you shortly. If anyone in the effected aisles- 6 through to 8- requires medical attention, please remain where you are and they will be with you shortly…"_

_Doug left Millierie standing ankle deep in tins of beans and various types of pasta and took the longest walk of his 'career' to the manager's office, ready for a rollicking. He wasn't disappointed. _

_"Sir!" He said, hoping to explain before he began. "It wasn't my fault! Really! It was Millierie, she-"_

_"We have CCTV, Mitsan!" He barked. "We know exactly what happened." Doug felt relieved for half a second whilst his boss paused for breath. Unfortunately, he wasn't finished yet. "But the fact of the matter is, Mitsan, you were responsible! Friend of yours, is she?"_

_"Well, yes, but…"_

_"You can't let her interfere with your work, Mitsan!" He bellowed. "Do you know how much stock we've lost! That's been ruined by the two of you! Not to mention the customers that won't come back! Who would, after that fiasco! And it's not just the ones in the store today, either! All we need is someone to have got a bump on the head and we'll be sued into the ground- the press will love that! And…" He took a deep breath. "The fact of the matter is, they'll want some sort of action to have been taken! Mitsan, I'm firing you!"_

_Doug stared fixatedly at the ground. It wasn't like that was any great surprise…_

_"I like you, Mitsan." The manger said, sounding almost sympathetic. "You're a great guy, but you're also a liability. Take a look at yourself, man! How old are you?"_

_"Twenty-Four, sir."_

_"Twenty-four!" The manager repeated, indcredously. "Great God! Twenty-four and still stacking shelves! When did you start here?"  
"When I was seventeen, sir."_

_"And no promotion!"_

_"No, sir."_

_"Goodness me…" The manager muttered. "Just what kind of loser are you, Mitsan? Look, you're a hard worker, so I'll give you a reference. But, for heavens sake man, go out there and get a _life_!"_

_"Yes sir."_

_"Well, off you go. Come and see me for the reference on Monday."_

_"Yes sir. Thank you sir."_

_He snorted. "Don't _thank _me for firing you, Mitsan! Get a back bone, would you? Now, get out whilst you still have a sliver of dignity!" _

_Doug did so, silently. Millierie was waiting outside._

_"I just got you fired, didn't I?" She asked, crumpling her own lifetime ban up in her hand._

_"Yes." Doug answered monotonously._

_"But it was my fault!" She protested. "I'll go in and tell him myself! He can't-"_

_"Of course he can, he's in charge." Doug replied, pulling the apron off over his head and tossing it on the floor. "Come on. Let's get out of here."_

_"…You're not mad?"_

_"Yes, I am, but getting angry isn't going to help." He sighed. "I guess I'll just have to find another job…"_

_"It could be a blessing in disguise!" She suggested, tentatively. "Maybe now you'll have more time to draw…"_

_"Don't push it, Millie." Doug ground out. "Just shut up about my art, okay! _I can't draw!"

_The force of his words caused her to blink in surprise as he pushed past her and stormed out._

_"Doug, wait!"_

_"Millie! Just… leave me alone for a while, okay!" He ran out._

_"Okay." Millierie whispered to his retreating back._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The figure emerged, wide-eyed, squatting on the branch.

"I don't believe it…" Azreal said.

"Do I know her?" Joey wondered.

"No way…" Seto muttered.

"Wait, wasn't she…" Tristan began.

"I think so…" Duke replied.

"But it can't be!" Téa protested.

"It is." Yami told them, solemnly.

"Miss Basa." Kaho declared, disbelievingly.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+_Flashback_-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_They all thought they had finished when Dasikue Yamazuki took his seat, but it was not to be. There was one person who had been added to the class at very short notice, so his name was just scribbled onto the bottom of the register. One person who the despairing school Physiatrist insisted needed the class. One person who it was a very, very bad idea to do something like this._

_"One more!" Miss Basa said happily. "Seto Kaiba?"_

_The room fell silent. She obviously didn't realise what a very, very, bad idea it was. A chair scraped back, and people turned round, gasping as Seto stood and began to walk to the front of the room. They couldn't believe he was actually going to do it. And they were slightly concerned as to what he was going to say…_

_"Behave…" Anna begged quietly as he passed her desk. He did not reply, going and sitting, arms folded, in the chair at the front of the room…_

_Miss Basa had just made the biggest mistake of her relatively short career. That was what she would tell everyone later, after she had handed in her resignation and took leave to handle a sudden nervous break down._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ _End Flashback_-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"You mean the PSHE teacher?" Joey demanded. "But I thought she disappeared!"

"Guess we found her." Duke muttered, him and the others standing, and beginning to emerge from the bushes.

"Don't move!" Miss Basa screamed at them, pointing another hand-made arrow at them.

"I guess we found who's been stealing the school supplies, to…" Duke muttered, freezing. Hey, those square sets were _sharp_.

"It was necessary!" Miss Basa protested fiercely. "To protect the forest!"

"Not much of a forest." Tristan pointed out. "It's so small!"

"Silence!" She roared. "You do not belong here!"

"A forest belongs to everyone!" Yami bellowed back "We have just as much right to be here as you do!"

She wilted slightly, the bow, made of a flexi-ruler and more elastic bands twitched to. "Once, that would have been true. But I have earnt my right as a guardian!" She stood fiercely again. "And I shall defend it till I die!"

"Okaaaaaay…" Azreal piped up, slightly freaked. Every time she thought her life couldn't get any weirder… crazy teachers popped out of trees. "Listen, Miss Basa-"

"That name means nothing to me anymore!" Miss Basa spat. "The names given by humans have no meaning! You may call me-" She let out a series of hisses. "It means Guardian in the true language! The language the wind makes as it whistles through the trees!"

"Uh… sure…" Azreal tried. Then something occurred to her. "Miss- uh, that is, Guardian- have you been living here all this time? Since April?"

"A true Guardian never leaves their post!" She insisted. "But you must leave this place!"

"We can't do that!" Azreal protested. "Look, I don't know what happened to you, but we _have _to… um…" Miss Basa had leapt down from the tree and was inspecting her face closely, making Azreal slightly uncomfortable.

"Yes… It's Anna, isn't it…? Yes…" She mused. "I am sure now! You are a spirit of this forest!"

"A what now?" Azreal blurted out without thinking.

"And so are you!" Miss Basa told Kaho. "There is no doubt anymore- my mind is clear in the certainty! The Auras are unmistakably the same! You mask it well, but you share a soul with this forest!" She bowed low. "I am sorry, masters. I am merely trying to keep the forest safe from those with less right to be here. I would never oppose a Forest Spirit!"

"Forest Spirit…?" Kaho whispered to her. Azreal shrugged.

"Sure, I'll go with that…" She coughed, speaking more loudly. "Yes… you have, uh, done well… and…uh… will receive a reward… um…" She was still looking at her expectantly. "What would you like?"

"Please, let us exchange names!" Miss Basa asked her eagerly. "It would be an honour and blessing to have my name spoken by a Forest Spirit!"

She and Kaho exchanged looks. But Kaho looked away. It would seem she was giving this honour to Azreal. Goody.

"Oh… okay… what did you say it was, again?"

Miss Basa let out the same series of whistles and hisses.

Azreal had no hope of repeating them. She floundered. "Oh, okay…"

"But this name is no longer worthy of you!" Seto rescued, suddenly. "Surely, a more fitting name should be rewarded!" He smirked. Azreal knew he was dying to laugh.

"Yes!" She said, trying to sound wise and not grateful. "A more fitting name, worthy of what you have done for us! And that name is… Uh…"

This was a really bad time to remember she couldn't whistle.

To her relief, Kaho jumped in to save them, whistling the first thing that came to mind- The Lord of the Rings theme tune.

"What does it mean…?" Miss Basa whispered in awe. "Forgive me, my knowledge of the language is still limited…"

"That is what you must find out." Seto put in. "Only when you find what it means will you truly earn it."

Miss Basa whirled to face him. "It is you!" She declared. "Oh, it is an honour to meet you again," She let out another series of whistles and hisses, far more elaborate then her own, that was presumably Seto's name. Or title. "Never have I regretted the day when you allowed my life to change to this! Thank you!"

"You're welcome…" Seto muttered, only practise allowing him not to bat an eye. "But now, we must press on."

"Of course!" She replied. "I shall ensure you are not followed!" She melted back into the trees.

"My life is so freaking weird." Azreal moaned.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_A giggle. "Doug, can't I move yet?" She begged._

_"Patience, woman!" He replied, voice slightly muffled by the biro in his mouth. "It takes time to produce great art!"_

_"And a large attention span…" She muttered._

_Doug removed the biro from his mouth and replaced it with his pencil as he went over some of the features. Eventually, satisfied, he removed it, and smiled at her. "There. I have everything I need. You can move now."_

_Immediately, she scurried round to peer over his shoulder at it. He tried to bat her away, telling her to wait till he had added the finishing touches, but it was in vain. She managed to see, and gasped._

_"Woah…That's amazing!"_

_He laughed. "I guess no-one's drawn you before. Or you wouldn't be so impressed."_

_"Yes I would!" She insisted fiercely. "It's wonderful!"_

_"Well, there's still some finishing touches to put on…" He reminded her._

_"Like what?" She asked, curiously. "It looks perfectly accurate to me!"_

_"Like… A moustache… and a beard… maybe some glasses and goofy teeth…" He teased, poising his pen._

_"Don't you dare!" She yelled. "Don't you dare!" She snatched it off him, clutching it protectively to her chest. "I do _not _have a moustache!"_

_"No." He agreed. "Just a unibrow."_

_"Doug!"_

_"I'm just joking." He laughed, reclaiming the picture and beginning to walk back down the hill. "You know you're beautiful."_

_"So are you."_

_He chocked, tripping his own feet and rolling down the hill. Millierie laughed and rolled to, just for the fun of it, landing on top of him. Giggling, they pulled each other up, and continued on their way._

_"I guess it's time for me to go home." Millierie sighed. "But I'm glad I got to see you get your art back…"_

_"What?" Doug demanded. "What do you mean?"_

_"Well, you can draw again now, can't you?"_

_"No, no, not that!" He insisted. "You're leaving!"_

_"I have to." She smiled. "I told you- I was only sent here because I'm the best at what I do. Now I have to go back." She carried on walking, and Doug went with her._

_"But you've been here almost a year…" He protested weakly._

_"Exactly. I have to go back." She pointed out. _

_"Back where?" He asked surly. "You never did tell me where you came from, or what you do, for that matter."_

_"I come from… Up north." Millierie told him. _

_"What, near Kyoto north?"_

_"No, as in, _way _North." She giggled at some private joke. "As to what I do- well, I've been doing it the entire time!"_

_"What, nothing?" He teased._

_"Yup! You won't find a better space-filler then me!" She said, cheerily. "They might even make me president some day!"_

_"That good, huh?" Doug laughed, though he didn't feel like it._

_"I don't want to go." Millierie admitted. "But it'll be nice to be back with my daughters…"_

_Doug blanched. "You're a mother!"_

_"Of three. Triplets." She confirmed._

_"And you never even told me…" He whispered. "There's so much I don't know about you, Millierie…"_

_"Fine!" She threw her hands up in surrender. "I'm Twenty-five! I have three daughters from an arranged marriage that is now a divorce and I had to leave them with their grandparents because no-one else could do this job!"_

_Doug's head was spinning. "You're twenty-five?"_

_"Yes. A year older then you!" She teased, not quite her bright self._

_"No!" He insisted, surprised. "You act about sixteen!"_

_"Thanks." She rolled her eyes. _

_"So…" Doug said into the silence. "An arranged marriage? I bet that was pretty grim…" He was wondering exactly where Millie came from. It seemed like a strange place… or she wasn't telling him something._

_Millierie shook her head. "It wasn't arranged, exactly… Let's just say my parents encouraged it. _Strongly _encouraged it. They introduced me to him in the first place. The match was all about politics, and we met and got married within a few months. It was all so rushed. He was so nice, though, I thought he was… But when we were married, he… I don't know…" She ran a hand, flustered. "I know it's cliché, but he changed. He wanted the stereotypical little wife- you know, doting and subservient. I could never be that. But… We weren't unhappy. We just weren't happy either. I mean, there were good times… like having our kids." She smiled at the thought of them. "They're such gorgeous little girls, Doug, I thought maybe if we were a proper family…" She shrugged. "But he didn't take much interest. It was only when I said that I wanted to go back to work when they were old enough that he got…" She stopped. "Look, I'd rather not talk about it!"_

_"Sorry." Doug apologised automatically. They had reached her house now._

_She laughed. "Doug, you always apologise! You don't need to!" She shifted. "Well, I guess this is it. You probably won't see me again." She gave a sad smile. "Goodbye, Doug."_

_Doug felt he had to do something, but he felt helpless. He couldn't stop her leaving. "Goodbye, Millie." He said, kissing her politely on the cheek, and then studied the floor._

_"I'll miss you." She said, taking his head between her hands and kissing his forehead. He lifted his head automatically, and their lips met. _

_It was unexpected, but it was what they'd been waiting for. It was so wonderful…_

_Millierie pulled away, shocked at herself. She'd just broken her own, personal, number one rule- don't get too involved with a client! Somewhere inside, she knew that it had already been too late, but that kiss solidified her worries._

_"Doug," She began, distressed. "I… I can't stay here!" She ran up and inside the house she'd been renting._

_Doug went home and went through all the motions of living. But, somehow, he always just felt tired and miserable, in no mood to do anything, let alone work on his drawings and paintings. He had a show in just a few weeks. He had thought, that day on the hill, that he had finally got his art back, but now it had vanished like ice cream on a hot day. He couldn't even finish the portrait of Millierie. Just looking at it made him feel ill._

_And if only he hadn't kissed her. Then they would have parted as friends, not with her being mad at him._

_And so, it came to be that, just a few days after she'd left, Millierie returned with a smile on her face, saying that the job she'd been sent to do hadn't been finished after all. Doug still didn't understand her but didn't care._

_She was back. It hadn't been the same without her. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"…Absolutely stir-fry crazy!" Joey finished. "Geez, Kaiba, what'd you do to her?"

"If she can't do her job, it is not my fault." Seto answered firmly.

"Oh, yeah, and I just _bet _she was trained to deal with people like you."

Seto snorted. "Whereas they have entire _schools _dedicated to people like you."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"You must have seen them, Wheeler. 'Special' schools."

"Are you calling me stupid!"  
"Your need to ask only serves to prove the point."

"Kaiba, you-"

"Of course, they have dog training schools to, right, mutt?"

"_Right!_ That's the way you want it? Then-"

The reason the argument had not yet been stopped was that two of the biggest peace makers- Téa could have a fiery temper when she wanted- were in deep conversation. As they had moved off, Yami had grabbed Azreal's arm. He wanted to talk as they hung back.

"I don't believe we've met." Yami said, peering at her anxiously. Azreal wrenched her arm from his grip, uncomfortable at the way he was scrutinising her.

"Well, considering _you _share a body with Yugi, and I used to go down and sneak into the records department at night to read about the 'unusual' people, I'd say we know each other as well as necessary." Azreal pointed out. "What more is there to know?"

Yami's mouth twitched in amusement. "You really are an odd one." He commented.

"Says the three thousand year old dead guy trapped in some tacky trinket." Then, worried she'd offended him, she added: "Uh, Mister Pharaoh." While Yami was still blinking at this strange way of addressing him, she continued. "But the fact is, there's no time for formalities! My home's in trouble and I won't rest until I know exactly what's going on! So, if you're coming, come!" She ran after the others.

Yami looked after her. She was odd, yes; but she troubled him for some bigger reason then that. It was the same as some of the others- something about her seemed familiar, stirred memories that weren't there. Perhaps she had- or she'd have- some part to play in their adventures, not just this one; perhaps she wouldn't. With all of them, he wasn't quite sure what part they'd play- would play- but there was something.

Maybe one day he'd find out. But this feeling only increased his suspicions that, despite his Hikari's insistence to the contrary, that the Muses had had- would have- a bigger part in all this then they knew.

But the past is full of mysteries. Yami knew not all of them would be solved.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Would you wait up!"_

_"Oh, come on, Doug!" She called back jovially. "You can go faster then that!" _

_"Not when I'm trying to keep things dry!"_

_"The tide's gonna get ya!"_

_That day, they'd both been off work, and, Millierie had phoned him and asked if he wanted to go down to the beach. Looking out of the window and seeing the sun beaming down, Doug had agreed- Why not? Maybe he could even get some sketches done._

_Phfft. Yeah, right. His drawings were as dead as they'd been for months. The difference was, Millierie encouraged him endlessly, and now he drew or painted whenever and wherever he had chance, even if it was still a fruitless effort. He felt so close, as though there was just one more obstacle to break through, but could not- it was endlessly frustrating. But he had had fun today, just hanging out on the beach as though they were ten years younger, just a bunch of silly teenagers. Unfortunately, responsibility had once again reared it's ugly head- they'd stayed too long, and now the tide was approaching in the stupidly fast way this beach was famous for. The sand had been drowned completely, and they were running along in ankle-deep water that got deeper by the second. And here he was, with everything clustered hurriedly in his hands, trying to save it all from the wet. _

_"Doug, come on!" Millierie said fiercely, grabbing some of the load from his arms. "Now, let's go!"_

_He didn't go. In fact, he stood there, chuckling._

_"What?" She asked, trying to frown but finding his laughter contagious and unable to stop a smirk. _

_"You're just acting so gung-ho about it all…" He snorted._

_"Hmmph!" She sniffed, kicking water up at him._

_"Hey!" He yelled. "I was supposed to be keeping this lot _dry_!"_

_"Oh?" She mocked, allowing her bundle to plunk into the water, and using her now free arms to splash him._

_Oh, why not?_

_Doug promptly let go of his lot to, and fought back, running up and grabbing her arms to still them. "Stop it!" He commanded. She laughed, looking up at him. _

_What he said next was completely compulsive and spontaneous, but, after it occurred to him, he couldn't see why not. He seemed to be acting very spontaneous today. As it was so sudden, he did not frill it up or try to make it romantic. He just said it as it came to his mind._

_"Marry me, Millie."_

_She looked at him in shock, pulling her arms away. Somehow, he knew he'd said the wrong thing. "Doug…" She said, hesitantly. "I can't marry you."_

_Feeling a fool, Doug looked away, trying to gather the items floating and bobbling on the waves, and those that had sunk below it. By now, the water was knee height. He should have known! Millie wouldn't want to marry him, not after her last experience of marriage. What a fool he was! Why did he say that? What an idiot!_

_"I can't…" She sounded as though she was crying, and, when she knelt down, ignoring the water soaking through her clothes and looked him in the eye, he could see she was. "Because I haven't…told you something."_

_Doug knelt down beside her, hardly breathing. The way she said it, it sounded like she wanted to. He could hardly dare hope… However, what she said next was unexpected._

_"Doug, I'm not human!"_

_He looked at her in surprise. She _looked _human enough… Millierie, however, was still babbling on._

_"I'm a Muse. I know it's weird and you'll think I'm mad but it's true! I come from a floating city hidden on the outskirts of Earth's atmosphere! We come and inspire humans to work creatively because it releases a product we need to survive!" She was sobbing now. "And I was sent to inspire you! You were a case for me! But I was stupid and let it evolve into more then that! I'm so sorry, I should never have let this happen! I'm not supposed to have any feelings for a client, but I do! I know it'll be hard to believe and you won't know weather all these times we've had were lies, but please, just believe that I'm really sorry!" She looked away, taking several deep breaths. "I wanted to tell you. But if I did… I was worried they'd send me away. I'm such a coward… but now you know. I'm _not _a human, Doug." She stood up, ready to splash her way back to the steps out of the watery beach. She was surprised when he caught her arm. "Huh?" Doug was looking down at the water, but now he looked up at her._

_"You still haven't given me an answer." He said, quietly._

_She stared at him in shock._

_He laughed sheepishly. "I confess that I really have no idea what you're talking about. But you say you're not human." He looked her right in the eye. "Millie, I don't care._ _It doesn't matter _what_ you are, I want to marry _you_, not a…species. And I'd really like it if you could find it in your heart to say yes."_

_She looked at him, long and hard, without expression. Then she broke into a smile, and jumped onto him. They both fell into the waves, but it didn't matter. They didn't even feel the cold, wrapped in each other's arms. _

_Millierie pulled away, water dripping from the tips of her hair onto his face. "Yes." She smiled._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Everyone had stopped dead before them. Azreal forced her way through to see; the vibes were driving her crazy. Sure enough, the shrine, the link to Wherever that even the ground had picked up on and sprung up trees, was there. It was tumble-down now, nothing more but a pile of rocks with a vague circle of more rocks around it. Moss, like all the other plants, had flourished here, scrambling over the stones. Yet, it did nothing to mask the fact that this had once been a beautiful place, a haven for the Humans and Muses that had escaped the hatred, that had still wanted to communicate with each other. It was not just the moss. The grass was long, thick and springy, the trees grew closely together right up to the ring of stone, and everywhere there was a dusting of weeds and flowers and herbs that shouldn't even have been growing in the woods. It gave off the most amazing feeling, and she knew the others somehow felt it to. Close up, the pull was almost as strong as the one in the ocean. This truly was a special place. No wonder Miss Basa, crazy though she was, had been drawn here. It really was alluring. Somehow, it felt even proportionally stronger then when she had first come to the Church, even taking into account that she was closer now. Possibly because all, or most of the other chutes had been properly closed off…

Tentatively, reverently, Azreal stepped inside the ring of stones.

It was like being set on fire. Or, at least, how she imagined it feeling. It started in her heart, stabbing right though from front to back. She cried, falling over, Seto beside her in an instant, but her heart was still beating, pumping acid round her veins. It felt as though it was burning her from the inside out, but, somehow, the pain was good, powerful. Her wings were being ripped out of her back, rippling and muscling and becoming stronger then she'd even known them; yet she was still in her human form, and they were solid to. It hurt, but her mind was becoming clearer, sharper, to; lifting the fog she'd felt smothering around it since she realised she was going to die. For a second, she hoped this was healing her, but it hurt too much. It was an overload of power, too much power, she'd lost almost all her muse powers, and now this was forcing itself in, topping her up to the point of overflow-

And then it stopped, interrupted by a less clear, smarting pain in her face. Her wings disappeared, going back to a Muse form and then fizzling out completely. The power was still there, nuzzling against her consciousness in an annoying, throbbing way, but it was nothing compared to what it had been, this slight pain and nausea. She blinked sweat out of her eyes, and was able to see Kaho crouching on her one side, hands clenching her arm, still muttering angrily. Seto was on her other side, hand raised, ready to slap her again if he was forced to. He hadn't wanted to. But Kaho had told him to, before Az hurt herself. And he didn't want that. Her other friends were gathered round to, looking on worriedly.

Seeing she was still and herself again, Seto lowered his hand.

"Are you alright?" He asked, quietly, urgently. It had quite scared him when she had started having that fit. "What happened?"

"I'm fine." Azreal assured him, shakily, getting used to the want to vomit. She was pale, sweaty, and shivering; but she wasn't the only one. Kaho, to, looked a little green around the gills, breathing heavily. "Serious power overload…"

"I'll tell you what happened!" She said, in her slightly shrill, slightly Scottish accent. "This silly girl came in here without proper preparation!"

"But…" Azreal protested weakly. "It was just a bit stronger then what we normally feel… I didn't think it would matter!"  
"Anna, you idiot." Kaho said fondly as Seto helped her to her feet. "You still have the wards on from when Wherever was cut off. If they had to go through all those defences, of course it would hurt! To get that amount, that fast, is not a good idea at the best of times, but without removing those wards and putting the right ones on, and with your powers not being what they have been either, it was just reckless and stupid!"

"Sorry…" Azreal replied, shamefaced. "But thank you…" She hugged her impulsively, stomach lurching a little when she realised how careless she'd been. Kaho had been the only one there who could have prepared it for her, the way they'd been trained. She was right. In her weakened state, had Kaho not been there, Azreal could quite easily have died… But she'd learnt her lesson. So far, she'd made a pig's ear of even _getting _to Wherever, let alone finding what the trouble was _and _a way to save it. She'd take the utmost care from now on!

The others looked on and pretended to be keeping up with what was happening. It was obviously going to continue to be one of those days where nothing made sense…

"But we've come this far!" Azreal declared, pulling away from Kaho and striding further towards the centre of the circle determinedly. "Let's figure out how to get this chute to open up and do this!"

"How did I know she'd say that…?" Kaho bemoaned slightly.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Wait!" Mokuba yelled. Everyone paused. "Where have they gone?"

"Where have who gone?" Doug asked.

"James' mom." Mokuba explained. "And your mom!" He added to the triplets.

Indeed, Millierie and Ruby were no longer with them.

"What?" Doug protested. "This wood is tiny! How could we have lost them?"

Mokuba shrugged, the movement changing into a duck and roll that he'd been taught as an arrow made entirely of stationary whistled over his head.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Silence._

_"Oh, come on, Millie!" He said, smiling as always. "They'll be here any minute! Let's not spend our last moments together in silence."_

_Millierie said nothing, crying again._

_"Now, you promised me you wouldn't cry!" He protested. "We agreed that it was better this way, after all. It's too late to back down now." She didn't look up at him. "Millie, you have a family up there. You've been living here for long enough. You should see them more then once a month."_

_"I have a family here to." Millierie answered. "Oh, Doug, how do we know if we're doing the right thing?"_

_He shrugged. "I guess we try it and find out." He looked at her. "You have to go, Mill."_

_"I know…"_

_"And I could never come to Wherever. I'd never be accepted. And it's too high. I wouldn't survive for more then a day, you said yourself."_

_"I know!" She sobbed. "But couldn't we just… I could come and see you…"_

_He laughed, kissing her gently on the top of her head. "No, love. You'd be too busy. We've discussed it all. Just…leave things as we arranged."_

_"I don't want to go…" She whispered, miserably. _

_"You need to be with your daughters. The other three, I mean." Doug smiled sadly. "And I wouldn't hear of letting you stay! Those people- Muses- _need _you far more then I do." He laughed. "I won't even remember…"_

_Millierie cried harder. "I'm so sorry! I didn't ask for you to be-"_

_"It doesn't matter." He dismissed. "It's not your fault. I always knew I'd be wiped one day, after all. Although, I must admit… I don't want to forget you Millie, _or _our daughter- even if it means, this way, that I won't feel the pain of not having you by my side…" She was still crying. He embraced her warmly, as strong and calming as ever. "You try to forget to, okay? We'll both love again."_

_"How can I?" Millierie cried. He looked at her sternly._

_"You will! I would never forgive myself if I made you miserable for the rest of your life! You have to move on."_

_"But…"_

_"Promise me." He begged, softly. "Millie, I'm not asking a lot- just find something that makes you happy, and be happy. Promise?"_

_She nodded silently._

_"And…" He hesitated. "Please, never regret anything we had. Okay?"_

_"I never will." She muttered._

_He didn't reply for a few seconds. "Where's Anna?"_

_"Outside." Millierie replied, wiping her eyes. "On her swing, as always."_

_"Heh." Doug laughed. "She spends more time falling off it then actually _swinging_ on it. The funny thing is, she just gets right back on and tries it again." He looked at her meaningfully. "Do I have time to…" He swallowed hard. "Do I have time to go and say goodbye?"  
"Of course." Millierie replied, but she was wrong. At that precise moment, the mind wiping squad arrived, and it was time for him to go._

_"Oh…" He trailed off. "I guess not. Just tell her I love her, alright?"_

_"…I'm sorry…"_

_"No! No regrets, remember!" He demanded, as the team silently connected him up to the machine, and asked him to sit down. "This may be the last time we speak to each other! Don't waste it apologising…" He bit down on the impulse to tell her that he loved her. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do. But he didn't know what he would do after he forgot. He couldn't even grasp the concept that he _could _forget. But if he told her he loved her, he might break her heart one day. He was forgetting, wouldn't be hurting for much longer. She would remember. And he wanted it to be as painless for her as possible._

_"Mr Mitsan?" One of the teams said. "Would you mind lying down? We're going to start the process now…"_

_Doug lay down, forcing a smile onto his face as he did so. "Well, goodbye…" He whispered, as Millierie knelt next to him._

_"Don't say that…" She whispered fiercely, kissing him one last time._

_He went still with his lips still on hers. Millierie released him slowly. He was sleeping peacefully, and when he woke up, he wouldn't remember her._

_Millierie left after that, out to the swing, and then she and Anna went together to the rest of her family._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Um… Ruby?" Millierie called out to Doug's wife as the others pulled ahead of them. "We need to talk."

"But…" Ruby replied worriedly, casting a look over her shoulder as the others got further away; and the kids from the Church were still approaching fast.

"It'll only take a moment." Millierie promised. An awkward pause fell. "I'll get right to it, shall I?"

Ruby nodded.

"Look…" Millierie said, rubbing the back of her neck awkwardly. "I know things are tough, to say the least, between us- and I think that would have been more noticeable had the circumstance of our meeting been any different. But I just wanted to say… Doug loves _you_."

Ruby looked up sharply in surprise. How had she known…?

Millierie laughed slightly bitterly. "I bet it's worrying you, somewhere in the back of your mind, isn't it? He never _divorced_ me, we never split up. He just forgot what we had. And I just bet that, in that small, dark corner of your mind, it's bothering you. And you're wondering who he loves, right? Well, I want to say that you don't need to worry." She looked at her sadly, slightly enviously, regretfully. "What he and I had was wonderful…but, I think, maybe… he wouldn't have forgotten if it… had run so very deep. True love is irreplaceable and unforgettable…" She shook her head. Ruby felt a great deal of pity and respect for her all at once. It had to take a lot for her to say this. "The way he smiles at you, Ruby, even at times like this…" She trailed off, wistfully. "I don't know what he felt for me, but now he loves you so much… And I think you make him happy." She looked like she was about to cry. "I never did. I was trying to balance two lives- I should have been there, and I wasn't, and when I was there I should have been somewhere else…" Seeing she was babbling, she forced herself back onto the point. "I guess what I'm saying is… I wasn't a very good wife." She laughed bitterly. "And I'm not a great mother either. But, now, just from the way you're just as desperate to help her as I am, I know you do care for Anna, I know she thinks the world of you." She looked Ruby in the eye. "And I want to thank you for making the people close to me so happy. You're a wonderful person."

Ruby said nothing, though she felt greatly comforted. What could you say to that?

They went to catch up with the others, where Millierie, Ruby, Emerald, and Opal were recognised by the crazy tree woman announcing her name as soon-to-be-Insert-whistled-LotR-theme-here as 'Forest Spirits' and they were allowed to pass.

They arrived just in time to see Seto disappear after Azreal into the porthole.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Open the chute?" Joey repeated. "How are we supposed to do that?"

"Well…uh…" Azreal stammered. "Kaho?"

"It's connected to Wherever." Kaho confirmed. "It's just disused; not closed that much, that's why we can sense it so much here. Like a door that closed, but not locked- all we have to do is push." She looked around at them all. "Just focus on wanting to get to Wherever, and it should pop right open."

"Especially as you're all the people close to me." Azreal added. "I think I heard that it was easier to open the old chutes if you were close to each other. And you guys have pretty much all been involved since I first came, so it should be a walk in the park! Is that right?"

"I'm not sure." Kaho admitted. "It's not like they teach us this in school…"

"They don't?" Yugi, now himself again, asked. "But isn't it kinda important that you can get up and down?"

"Not now we've got the portholes." Kaho replied. "Don't forget, there's no love lost between our race and yours…" She suddenly grabbed Yugi's hand, and Duke's on the other side. "It might be stronger if the bond is physical to." She explained. Slowly, the line formed. They were all surprised when Seto joined in, having grabbed Azreal's hand- and none were more surprised then Téa when she found him grabbing hers fiercely. But then, it was either her of Joey, so maybe not all _that _surprising. Kaiba's hand felt weird, and looking down, she realised it was bandaged. He caught her looking, and she faced ahead even as he silently dared her to ask.

"Concentrate!" Kaho shouted. She was getting surprisingly into this. But then, this was probably the closest anyone from _her _city had ever come to an adventure. Or being a hero. One by one, all the sets of eyes along the row flickered shut, focusing on Wherever.

For those that weren't Muses, it was hard to even find it at first. They started with the odd atmosphere in this place. With their eyes closed, it became a more definite feeling. Soon, it felt like a physical place to them, almost, as they drew it closer, as if they to were standing on the levels of Wherever and knew it as their home.

"That's it!" Azreal's voice came suddenly. Their eyes leapt open. "It's open! We did it!" She released Seto's hand and ran to look.

All they saw was, above the largest pile of moss-covered rocks, a blue, swirling oval, about Azreal's height and width, as though it had been made especially for her. Which, in a way, it had.

As they shuffled to reclaim their hands- some people had gained a rather strong grip- Kaho screamed at them urgently.

"No, don't! Don't lose focus! Anna's already gone! If too many do, the porthole will close and we won't have the strength to open it again!"

No-one let go after that.

"…I'm going up." Azreal sighed determinedly, after a second's hesitation, beginning the climb up the pile of rocks towards the porthole.

"You know," Seto interrupted, not concentrating as hard as he probably should have been. "There's probably a reason Wherever's been cut off. It'll be dangerous."

"I know." Azreal swallowed. "But I have to find out what!"

"You're so anxious about the place that shunned and rejected you?" Seto asked, expressionlessly.

"Yes." Azreal nodded.

"Then I'm coming with you." Seto said, wrenching his hand out of Téa's grip. The others gasped as it became a little harder to keep the porthole open. But then, Seto hadn't been putting much effort into it anyway.

Azreal stared at him. "Seto… You said yourself, it'll be dangerous. Why should you care about Wherever?"

He wanted to say he didn't, he cared about her, but couldn't quite bring himself to do it in front of Yugi and the others. So instead he just shrugged.

"I guess I'm just really bored of _Yugi _being the hero all the time." He smirked. "So I'll follow you. Wherever you go." He mouth twitched, easily amused by puns. Azreal smiled gratefully at him- she didn't want to admit it, but she wanted the company.

"Kaiba!" Yugi, though, to everyone but the one he addressed it was blatantly Yami, yelled. "Don't you let her get into trouble, you hear? Or I shall personally come after you!" He caught Azreal's eye. "There's still some things I'd like to know…"

Seto gave him a small thumbs up, and he and Azreal continued the clamber up the small pile of what had once been a shrine.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: There… Hope none of you mind all the Doug/Millierie stuff in there, but then it would have been an awfully short chapter without it! Actually, it wasn't planned. But I wrote the first one on a whim and couldn't stand to delete it! In other words, it was going that way…

I'll update again ASAP!


	26. Ghost Town

A/N: I'm back! _(Dies of shock) _That was a close one, folks. I mean, I get a lot of writer's block, but that was terrible… Luckily, at about 10 last night, whatever Muse they've assigned to me showed up and reasserted themselves! Not that I could get much done before my little sister went to bed… So the great majority of this was written this morning! There should not be such a large gap again, if all goes well… But the November-February period is defiantly busy and rather mad. That's just a head's up, there! I'll try to update as much as I can, though… My apologies for the long wait, anyhoo…

Disclaimer: Speaks for itself.

Due to my little sister not being able to remember what happened... Previously in **Wherever You Go**...: This chapter was mainly about Doug and Millie's relationship, but we DID get as far as Seto and Az disappearing into the chute...

Twenty-Four: Ghost Town

_"Kaiba. I need to talk to you."_

_Seto turned slowly. Had it been anyone else, he would have, more then likely, just kept on walking. But he couldn't afford to be anything but civil to this girl. Her mother was the owner of a company. Not a rival, but one that would make a valuable partner. They owned a string of power stations. And, if Seto gave any reason to offended this girl, Kaiba Corp. may find it's electricity bill significantly increased._

_"Oh?" he replied. "What's the matter?" That's it. More polite then 'what do you want?'…_

_"This wedding." The girl answered. "The nephew of the sister of the owner of the Software Store, I believe. I assume you are going?"_

_Seto inclined his head slightly. "Yes, I will be in attendance."_

_The nephew of the sister of the owner… Great goodness. All the business big wigs would be there to see him get married. This was all so silly. He doubted even the partnership itself was anything more then artificial. It was like being back in the Renaissance period- _everything _was about making a good impression and establishing good relations as false as saying two was the first letter of the alphabet. But it _appeared _friendly. Seto hated this game, but if he was going to win he had to play._

_"Good." She nodded. "Well, as my family was also invited, my mother requested that I ask to come with you."_

_Seto looked at her in silent detest, although he kept his face blank. To her credit, she didn't seem any happier about the arrangement then he felt. "Are you asking to come to the wedding as my…" He tried desperately to think of a word, but could not. "Partner?" He ground out, eventually._

_He could tell she was dying to shrug and drop the formalities just as much as he wanted to, but couldn't quite bring herself to do it around what she'd apparently been told could be an important business partner. "My mother understands that you are trying to deal with a company that works with Solar-Power, yes?"_

_"That's correct…" Seto said, cautiously. He wanted to include it on his products…_

_"Yes, our firm is interested in finding cleaner sources of energy, you see…"_

_Aha. So… Now that he was interested in 'clean' sources of energy, it would reflectively look very good on her mother's company if her daughter was seen with him and the owner of the company discussing solar power, which was sure to come up at the wedding. In return, his being seen with her would make the deal he was trying to make all the sweeter, if the owner of the other company thought he was likely to deal with her mother's instead. How very clever. It was a win/win situation. There was no reason to decline the offer._

_"I see." Seto replied, evenly. "Unfortunately, I think I shall have to turn down your _kind _offer."_

_She looked at him in a mix of surprise and relief. He'd been right. She hated the 'Politics of business' as much as he did. _

_Later that day, Seto asked Azreal to accompany him to the wedding in the middle of a sword fight. She eventually agreed. Little did he know, she had overheard his conversation with the power plant girl. And she loved him all the more for it. _

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto did not get scared.

What was there to even be scared off? It was just a porthole, nothing at all to be worried about. It was, after all, just like a doorway. A pulsing, blue, swirling, doorway, that couldn't make up it's mind whether it was shallow or deep, that looked solid, so it was hard to believe you could go through it, that it was impossible to know how far it went, what would happen within, or where it would come out… It was just a doorway that looked creepily like a black hole, those collapsed stars where the pressure alone was enough to crush you into the rough size and shape of a peanut.

Yep, just like a door.

In front of him, Azreal disappeared through the porthole. Well, he _said _he'd follow her anywhere, if she needed him. Bracing himself for his first experience of inter-dimensional travel, Seto forced himself to dive through after her.

He rolled through onto a slightly dirty metal floor, the force of his dive sending him careering across the floor until the oppisite wall stopped him.

It really had been just like a door, then.

Ah.

Trying to look dignified, Seto picked himself up. Azreal just watched him, smirking slightly. She seemed too tired to laugh. Trying to ignore her, Seto took the chance to look around him. The first thing that struck him was the uncanny resemblance to an old lift.

No, it was more then a resemblance. It _was _a lift. Four straight, grey, dirty, metal walls on a small, no more then two metres wide, room. With two austere doors and a small control panel, that Azreal was now frowning over.

"I was expecting something more…" He muttered.

"Well, it's a very old chute." Azreal defended. "They're a lot better looking now… more secure to! Look, it just wants a voice sample… Man, this hasn't been serviced in years… Let's hope it still works."

"…Yes." Seto decided just to agree rather then admit that he had been expecting something that was more… Sci-Fi. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't even sure if they were dimension-hopping. No, wasn't Wherever up in the upper atmosphere somewhere…?

Feeling that he was in slightly over his head was a new sensation, and it took a while to identify.

"Okay!" Azreal said, falsely cheerful, shaking him from his ponderings. "They used these back in my mom's time, but I'm fairly sure that all the chutes are updated automatically, so it should accept me!"

"What?" Seto asked.

"Ssh, ssh!" She insisted, waving a hand at him. Then, predictably, she held down the big red button at the top of the control pad.

It crackled and sparked into life, and Azreal sighed in relief. For a moment there, she thought it wasn't going to work.

"State name and occupational data." The old recording demanded.

Closing her eyes, and hoping she knew, Azreal found she could remember all her old details. Maybe she hadn't left her past as far behind as she'd hoped…

"Azreal Kiyoko." She stated, speaking as clearly as she could. "Muse 3rd class, Young adult, Two-of-Five, Multi-task, Seven-Nine-Two-Six-Eight, West Block North, OPS, Minimum wage, Qualifications: Minimum. "

The machine buzzed and whined as the old chute tried to compute all this. Then it blankly, monotonously stated:

"Error. State name and occupational data."

Azreal growled in irritation. "It's so old…"

Seto continued to quietly wonder what on Earth was going on.

"Azreal Kiyoko." She ground out, painfully slowly. "Muse 3rd class. Young adult. Two-of-Five. Multi-task. Seven-Nine-Two-Six-Eight. West Block North. O-P-S. Minimum wage. Qualifications: Minimum."

This time the machine took longer to buzz and whine and moan. It seemed to be dithering over accepting her.

"Error." It declared, eventually. "State name and occupational data."

Azreal released the button, sighing. "Darn it…" She grumbled. "I was afraid of this…"

"Well…" Seto said carefully, trying to reassert himself over the situation. He didn't like being lost. "You've been gone a long time. They would have deleted you by now."

Azreal snorted. "Nah. My mom's in charge of that. And if I'm gonna visit her… Besides, I think I know what it is…" She groaned quietly. "Man, this just gets worse…" Sighing, she held the button down. "Azreal _Rhapsody _Kiyoko." She said resignedly. "Muse 3rd class, Young adult, Two-of-Five, Multi-task, Seven-Nine-Two-Six-Eight, West Block North, OPS, Minimum wage, Qualifications: Minimum. And guest." She added, hastily, remembering Seto.

"Data accepted!" The control panel chirped happily, and all the other buttons turned from blue to red, allowing Azreal to use them. She frowned as she tried to remember the correct combination of numbers to take them to the right place in Wherever… This had been so much easier when there was a Tech manning the chute… Still, at least it was Wherever. Much easier. So it was 01, to start with. And then… Not Level Six. It would be full of people, shopping and using the leisure facilities. The place to go to find out what was going on would be floor 12, where the Government lived, but she'd never get in. Instead, she put in 08- Where Muse headquarters were. Her mom would know what was happening. And, for the last two digits, she hesitated, wondering weather to go right into the centre, but instead deciding just to go home, she put in her area code, 12.

The lift wobbled and groaned, but eventually began it's juddering movement upwards. Sighing in relief, Azreal sat down. If this was the maximum speed, they were in for a long ride.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Stop them!" Millierie yelled desperately, as they entered just in time to see Seto disappear after Azreal. Then everything happened at once.

Surprised, the others instinctively turned around. As they did so, the porthole slammed shut behind them.

Well and his friends came catching up with Millierie and the others. "Come back!"

Miss Basa entered, and stood, watching.

"The porthole!" Kaho screamed.

But by then it was much too late to do anything about it.

"They went up…" Millierie said, in disbelief.

"We let it shut…" Kaho groaned.

"And we let them get here!" Well finished, too annoyed to even say 'Well'.

"None of that matters!" Millierie screamed in frustration as all the others looked on. "They've gone up to Wherever! Do you know what that means! It's full of Nothing!"

Kaho recoiled in shock, but the others didn't know what this meant at all. So Millierie made it absolutely clear.

"They'll die." She informed them, bluntly, bitterly.

"So…" Téa said slowly. "We just watched them go to their deaths?" She couldn't believe it. "That's not true! It can't be!" When Azreal had been dying anyway, now all they'd done was speed it up. And what about Kaiba? It couldn't be true. Life wasn't so cruel. "We _cannot _have just seen them for the last time!" Yugi placed a hand quietly on her arm to tell her to stop now.

"Not if I can help it." Millierie replied, tight-lipped. "You know what Azreal's like, and I bet Kaiba's just as bad. They'll carry on even when the doors open and it's all Nothing. But I'm going up after them."

Kaho stood, mouthing worthlessly. She'd _met _the muses in Yugi's shop, she'd asked what had been going on… They hadn't been willing to tell her much. If she'd known that it was Nothing, she never would have let them go up… It was all her fault…

"But…" She said eventually . "The porthole shut... We won't have the strength to do it again!"

"You have a lot more people this time." Millierie said, evenly. Kaho looked, and saw it was true. There _was _rather a lot of people… Yugi and Téa, whom she'd caught in the game shop. Duke, who she had phoned, and he'd come right away, getting Tristan to turn up to when they'd gone and got Joey and Mai. Then there was Well, and the ones he'd called Joseph, Ryan, Danielle, Bethany and Maria. They all looked confused. Then there was Anna's extended family; her parents, the two Rubys, Emerald, Opal and James, and Mokuba Kaiba. There was Miss Basa to, clutching a stationary spear and looking grim. Lastly, there was her… Kaho Bijou. Desperately trying to do something right for a change.

She nodded. "Right."

"I will have no part in this." Opal spoke up, suddenly. They all looked to where she stood, arms folded, in surprise. "Mom, you know as well as I do that by the time you got there Az would have somehow got it into her head that she could save the city, and you'd never manage to drag her away. And you also know that humans are far more resilient to it then we are; so, as only half-muse, she'll last a lot longer then you will." She closed her eyes, sighing. "Just let her do it. Some people just have to be heroes."

Of course, they had to re-open the porthole anyway so that the two would be able to come back later.

"Now that that's agreed…" Joey said. "Would someone mind explaining what's happening here!"

So they did.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A frown was not an unusual facial expression for Seto, and he wore one now. Azreal sat near by, picking at her Shaun the Sheep socks, both deep in thought. Seto was worried. The way Azreal had been acting these past months had not gone unnoticed. She had seemed more subdued then how he'd once known recently… Well, no, not recently. It had been going on for ages. And, he suddenly saw, it was affecting her physically to. Her eyes rarely had that sparkle anymore. She'd lost a worrying amount of weight. And she always seemed so tired, so pensive, so withdrawn…

Not sure what to say, Seto turned again to scrutinise the lift. A notice caught his attention. It was old and faded, turning slightly yellow, but it was the only relief from the uniform grey of the walls, so he was glad to have something to read. It seemed to be a key. Azreal apparently hadn't noticed it… Unless it had appeared only after the control had accepted her. Who knew in this crazy place?

**KEY CODES**

_WHEREVER ------------------------------------------------- 01_

_ELSEWHERE------------------------------------------------ 02_

_ANYWHERE------------------------------------------------- 03_

_NOWHERE-------------------------------------------------- 04_

_SOMEWHERE---------------------------------------------- 05_

_**YOU CHOSE:**_

_**WHEREVER **(Back- 13)_

_LEVELS:_

_12------------- Government offices. PERSONELL ONLY.---------------- 12_

_11------------- Communications. PERSONELL ONLY------------------- 11_

_10------------ Power Plants & Water Supply ----------------------------- 10_

_9------------- Conference & Convention Centres, Media Circus ------ 09_

_8------------- Muse Offices ------------------------------------------------- 08_

_7------------ Manufacturing ------------------------------------------------ 07_

_6------------ Universities & Centres for Learning ---------------------- 06_

_5----------- Shopping and Leisure ---------------------------------------- 05_

_4---------- Customs & Quality Control ---------------------------------- 04_

_3---------- OUT OF BOUNDS -------------------------------------------- NA_

_2--------- OUT OF BOUNDS --------------------------------------------- NA_

_1---------- OUT OF BOUNDS -------------------------------------------- NA_

**PLEASE SELECT LEVEL**

The interactive message had apparently frozen there. Seto sighed, out of things to do except wonder about what he'd read. Where exactly did the Muses live? He supposed that they must have accommodation on all the levels. And what had happened to the bottom three levels to make them out of bounds?

"We must be about half way there by now." Azreal said, suddenly. "Good. I was kinda worried that we'd end up stuck half way, what with Wherever being cut off everywhere else and all…"

Seto became rather glad she hadn't told him that before.

"Do you mind telling me exactly what we're doing?" He asked.

Azreal nodded. "We're heading for Level Eight, where all the actual Muses live and work. If we keep our heads down, we should be able to find my mom, and get to the bottom of all this."

So, she had no more of an idea then he did…

Seto was not used to going into situations totally blind. Still, there was a first time for everything. The silence irritated him even more then his lack of knowledge did, though. Suddenly, he started chuckling. At first, it was just to relieve the tension, but then it became real. A real laugh.

"Of all the times to suddenly develop a sense of humour…" Azreal commented, looking at him curiously. "What's so funny?"

Seto smothered the laugh, although his mouth still turned upwards at the corners. "Nothing."

"You don't laugh at 'nothing'. C'mon, tell me!" She insisted, smiling in spite of herself and the situation.

"You'll shout at me…" Seto warned her, plainly.

"Why?" Azreal's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You spit it out right now, Seto!"

"It's just…" He swallowed a laugh, and, having composed himself, managed to get the last word out. "Rhapsody…?"

Azreal glared at him. "It's horrid, isn't it?"

"Actually, I find it rather amusing…" Seto smirked. "Is that _really _your middle name?"

"Yes." Azreal sighed. "Although, it could be worse. Ruby, Emerald and Opal are Harmony, Symphony and Melody respectively."

Seto managed to change his burst of laughter into a cough. "Your mother must be very musical."

"No." She smiled back, wryly. "She's just watched too much _Captain Scarlet._"

Seto laughed a final time, then turned away slightly. The false smile lingered for a moment, slipped, and was replaced by a real one. The forced laughter had worked. She was smiling again.

Still, that _was _a pretty dire middle name. No wonder she kept it secret…

Now, was it just him, or was his chest getting a little tight…?

He was getting _way _too sentimental.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Azreal ran helter-skelter through the office as fast as she could. People were used to her by now, and calmly moved out the way- or stuck out a foot to attempt to trip her up or kick her in the shin. She was used to them to, and ignored them._

_"You're running late, 'Real!" Rebecca called, leaning over the desk._

_"I know!" _

_"Wait!" Rebecca called out. "You forgot these!" She waved the notes on her charge and her help at her. _

_"Oh…" Azreal replied sheepishly, reversing to get them. "Thanks, 'Becca!"_

_"You're welcome. Now go!"_

_"Right!"_

_"Good luck! I'll see you when you get back!" Rebecca called after her, ignoring the glares thrown at her. So what if she happened to like Millie's youngest daughter? Did it affect any of them?_

_Azreal managed to miss the porthole they'd arranged for her, so now she had to take the chute. Oh, she was _so _late… Sitting in the lift, slightly out of breath, she had a last- and, in all honesty, first- look at the notes for the case. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small. Just a webcomic, but one that had a knock-on effect to a lot of other people. Still, she couldn't afford to screw this one up, her job depended on it. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like she'd get much help. She'd been warned that this one might be landed on her about two weeks ago, and the one thing she _had _read was about this Seto Kaiba. He just seemed more interesting then this 'Wheeler' she was going to help. He also seemed mean, stubborn and arrogant. He didn't need a Muse, so they didn't go to him. What he needed was the full _A Christmas Carol, _three ghosts, total transformation treatment._

_She wasn't sure if he'd believe she was really there. After everything she'd read about what he'd been up to these last few years, he ought to. Whether he'd help would be another matter entirely. _

_"I can do this…" Azreal whispered out into the otherwise empty lift. "I can do this."_

_Unfortunately, she knew that saying the words didn't automatically make them true. __She spotted where she was going. Domino City._

_Azreal swallowed hard. She'd just have to stay focused on the case, nothing else. _

_"I can do this." She said one final time. But she still wasn't convinced._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"We're almost there." Azreal said. She was smiling, sounded almost excited. "Seto, we're almost there! It's been so long… But we're almost there!"

"I heard." Seto replied. For some reason, it seemed harder to speak then usual. She grabbed his hand, eyes shining.

"I can't wait to show you Wherever!" She grinned happily. It slipped slightly when she thought of something, but then came back all the brighter. "I mean, I know we'll have to keep our heads down, and it's probably going to be a little crazy up there- but that'll probably be a good thing, it'll mean you won't be noticed so easily!" She was gradually slipping into her muse form whilst she spoke, her hand turning that eerie mix of warm and cold in his. "Maybe when all this is over, I can show you everything." She sighed almost dreamily. "We can go all round Level Five. I'll show you how to play Everball! And we can go in the arcades. I mean, we may not have much in the way of films, but we can make a mean video game! Hey, maybe there'll be a convention up on Level Nine, they're always good for a laugh…" She paused. Seto was looking at her strangely. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Seto shook his head. "Tell me some more about Wherever."

"Well, it's shaped like _this_…" She sketched an outline in the air. "The biggest level is up top. And, oh, the water supply… Twice a day, they just pour it down the holes in the centre. The levels take it in turns to activate these huge collecting plates, and that's how we get water! It's so pretty, Seto, you just wouldn't believe it! It all cascades down, and they have to clear the bridges- Oh, the bridges! They all criss-cross over the hole in the middle, so when you're at the bottom looking up, it's almost like being underneath a spider web…"

As she kept talking, all Seto could think was how much she loved her city. It seemed she'd almost forgotten about it. He almost wished she had.

He was feeling decidedly dizzy. It was kinda hard to stay up straight… His legs were wobbling beyond control. Or was it the lift? Az didn't seem to be effected…

"Seto?" She asked, transferring her grip from his hand to his arm, catching hold of the other one to, keeping him steady. That weird warm-coldness spread up his arms… "What's wrong? Seto? Yo, Seth, are you alright? Seto…? Seto, what's wrong…?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Unaware of what was happening by now a long way above them, Kaho was standing, holding hands between Duke and Well, the oddly calming power of the porthole seeping through her and moving on. And, unbidden, she couldn't stop herself remembering…

_"Kaho, we've already been through this!" _Her mom was saying all over again, snapping but sounding slightly sympathetic.

_No…_Kaho thought, trying to push it away. _I don't want to remember this. Not this… _But it was too late. The memory was pushing it's way back into her mind.

_"You're too old for these silly ideas." Her Dad looked at her sadly. "Just drop it, Kaho."_

_"But it's not silly!" She protested. "I can be a Muse if I want to! I know I could, if I worked really hard and-"_

_"Kaho…" Her dad said slowly. "Look, we just want you to be happy, but-"_

_"You get these ideas out of your head!" Her mom, always short-tempered cried, pushing Kaho's plate towards her. "You'll _never _be a Muse! _No-one_ from around these parts ever is!"_

_"But…"_

_"Now, I'll not hear another word!" Her mom said, firmly. "You can work in the docks or in the factories, or get a nice job in the shop, like the rest of the family. If it's good enough for us, it's good enough for you. Now, eat your food."_

_"…I'm not hungry." Kaho stated. She stood, and silently left the table, going up to her room, where she lay on the bed, silently, not moving, staring at the ceiling. _

_Later, a soft knock came at the door, and her mom entered, a slice of the cake she'd made for dessert balanced on a plate. Kaho rolled over, turning away from her._

_She heard her mom taking a deep breath, trying to keep her temper with the ten-year-old._

_"I brought you some cake." She said, setting it down. "You must be hungry by now…"_

_No response._

_"Listen, Kaho. I'm sorry I shouted at you." She patted her daughter's arm, awkwardly. "But, you see… People like us don't become Muses."_

_"Why not?"_

_"...That's just the way it works." She paused, but when Kaho did not reply, she continued. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, that's all… I don't want to see you get rejected."_

_Kaho didn't reply. But once her mom had left the room, she ate the cake._

Kaho forced her attention back to the present. She needed to focus on this porthole… She never had managed to become a Muse. Another thing she'd failed at for the list. The list was long, but the one right at the top was how she'd never told her parents how much they meant to her. Now, she'd probably never see them again… And, despite what she told herself, she had no idea what she was going to do with her life. She had no particular talents. She'd never be a success…

_Come on, Ann… _She thought, almost desperately. _You have to do this. Be a hero for us both…_

And just like that, she started remembering another time, when she had left home. Memory after memory played in her mind, good and bad, and she couldn't stop them.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The dizziness subsided a little, and Seto straightened, standing unsupported again. "It's fine." He said, blinking to try and clear his head a little more. "I just went a little dizzy there… You know what we forgot, don't you?"

Azreal looked unconvinced, but curious despite herself. Seto didn't wait for her to reply to tell her what he'd just realised with sudden clarity.

"The air gets thinner as you get higher." Seto pointed out. "It obviously doesn't bother Muses… do you breathe air like that?"

"Yes." She sounded almost insulted. At the moment, she was too distracted to even realise that this close to Wherever, she could keep her Muse form up without apparent effort.

"In that case," Seto gasped. "It'll just be because you grew up all the way up here. You're used to all this up and down-ing. I've never been any higher up then in a plane."

"Will you be alright?" Azreal's earlier smile had been replaced by a worried frown. Seto waved away her concern.

"Of course. I can deal with it- I just wasn't prepared for it, that's all." Azreal, however, didn't seem convinced. "Really, Az, I'm used to it. I was asthmatic when I was little."

"You never said." Azreal said, surprised.

Seto shrugged. "I grew out of it." He didn't bother to add that he'd been forced to grow out of it. When a certain nasty step father chooses to see it as a sign of weakness, and won't let you use an inhaler, you kind of have to figure out how to breathe on your own. And then you don't need the inhaler, do you? "Mokuba, however, hasn't. He still has it a little."

"Oh… I never would've…" She trailed off as the lift finally trundled into it's destination. "We're here! Now, let's go see what this is all about, and fix it…" She smiled. "Then the populace will welcome us with open arms, and we can have some fun!"

Seto didn't bother to gently remind her that it probably wasn't going to be as simple as all that, but he didn't need to. Slowly, creaking with age, the lift doors were starting to open…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Kaho wasn't the only one unable to stop the memories flooding into her mind. Vaguely, between memories of all the most important times of her life, she realised it would affect all of them that had opened the first porthole. When they had been surprised and 'dropped it', they hadn't done it gently- the entrance to the chute had disappeared along with their energy. And now, even though there was more of them, it was still taking it's toll, messing with their minds… Kaho didn't fight it anymore. She knew that, with all the others there helping, those among them that were tired need only let the collective energy flow through them, not concentrate on keeping it open. So she took a back seat and watched the scenes of her life play themselves in front of her.

As Duke saw himself making the preliminary plans for DDM; and Tristan recalled his first day at Domino Elementary; and Mai remembered giving Joey her 'Glory of the King' card at Duellist's Kingdom; and Joey replayed that horrid day when Serenity had gone away in the back of their mom's car; and Téa felt the buzz of the first dance concert she'd ever participated in; Yami, who had popped out at the slightest sign of something supernatural, was also remembering. It wasn't much, just a series of flashes, but now he knew why he sensed something about Azreal, the same way he sensed something about everyone else that had been connected to his past. It was a weak, tenuous link, but it was there…

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The lift doors slid open, allowing a view of dazzling, swirling white. It began slowly seeping into the lift trickling round their ankles. Seto looked at Azreal. She still hadn't said anything.

"I…I didn't expect it to be like this." She said eventually. "It's all Nothing."

"There'll be someone around somewhere…" Seto offered.

She shook her head. "No. We both know that there's no-one here. There's no movement, no life. I can feel it… It's nothing but a ghost town. _Nothing _but a ghost town."

"Az…"

She smiled weakly. "I guess that game of Everball will have to wait."

"I guess it will."

Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Seto! I was wrong! There _is _someone here! There is!"

"What?"

"I can feel them!" She yelled desperately. "Come on!" She plunged out into the fog-like substance, running into the distance.

Seto calmly considered the foolishness of this; eying the Nothing suspiciously. He wasn't quite sure what it did, but he certainly didn't fancy running round in it. How was he even supposed to run when he couldn't breathe properly? The Nothing made it even worse, the air thick and heavy around him.

Once he had concluded all this, he forced himself to run after her and catch her up.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: And now, I'm asking for **feedback. **Now, normally I know exactly what I'm doing, (Unless I'm attacked by writer's block... >. )but here's the thing- I _do _have an idea for a whole Egypt-y thing for Az. Which is why I put in Yami remembering it. However, as it would have no real bearing/effect on the overall storyline, it would be rather pointless apart from for entertainment. So what I want to know is if anyone's interested. If you are, I'll write a chapter set in Egypt- which is something I haven't tried before- but if you're not, I'll just get straight on with the overall storyline…


	27. Once Upon a Time Or Possibly Twice

A/N: I can't believe I actually finished this! _(Huuuuuuge grin) _It certainly took long enough! Although, the ending IS a bit rushed… _(Decides to post before she changes her mind) _There is quite a number of … Historical liberties in this chapter, I'm afraid… But, in my defence, I'm fairly sure the show's exactly the same. Also, please forgive any of my typos, but I haven't proof-read because it's midnight and I wanna post this so I can go to bed… _(Yawns)_

Disclaimer: This chapter is set in Ancient Egypt. There isn't any copyright laws yet.

Twenty-Five: Once Upon a Time (Or Possibly Twice)

The sun had yet to put in an appearance, and yet, the entire Palace- no, the entire kingdom- was abuzz with activity. Trepidation or excitement, or perhaps both, hung in the air. No-one knew what to expect.

Seto, to, was already up and had been all night. It was not that he had anything in addition to his usual duties to attend to, more like a restlessness that had been brought on by the tension. As the sun began to emerge over the distance, bathing both him and the scene before him in a slight pink light, he leaned on the edge of the wall, deep in thought. He stared out over the great city, and in his mind he wandered it's every street, from the market place to the Palace itself. Yes, it was a great city, and he was going to protect it till the end, or may the underworld have his soul to torment for all eternity…

"Thinking morbid thoughts again, I see."

"Pharaoh." Seto replied, bowing hastily, cursing himself for not being more alert. He hadn't even heard the ruler approach. Straightening up, he allowed himself to be a little less formal then most people would get away with, looking back out over the view.

"You come up here often." Atem commented, coming to stand next to him. "Yet, I did not realise why until just now."

"Yes." Seto agreed. Bathing in the early dawn light, from here, on top of the east-facing Palace wall, the city did indeed look more beautiful then ever. No matter what these people brought with them, he was not letting it crumble…

"There it is again." Atem said, chuckling slightly. "Sometimes, I wonder what it is you think about to give you such an expression."

"I was simply considering what these… people might bring with them."

"Ah, ever suspicious." The Pharaoh replied, straightening up. Immediately, Seto did to, seeing that this was no casual visit when the leader had a spare few moments. He looked serious. "I need you to be there when they arrive, Seto. I wish to introduce you, and I may have to consult with you. Unfortunately, with times as they are, your suspicious nature is just as often proved correct as wrong."

"Of course." Seto answered, bowing again. "I will be there as soon as the bell sounds." He promised.

"Hmm." Atem nodded, making his leave. Sometimes, it paid to have someone who was naturally untrusting as your ally. However, being in charge often meant making decisions. In order to make the right choice, you had to be wise. To be wise required knowledge. To get knowledge meant to either find Isis or to have her sent for. It was always useful to know what the future held, after all.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

As it turned out, Seto was close by when one of the guards sounded the alarm. He was standing with the Captain, receiving a report on the additional security measures in place or ready to be initiated, should they be needed. And, he had to say, he was satisfied, although it did nothing to get his nerves off edge.

Days ago now, there had been news of important-looking foreigners passing over Egypt's most westerly border. Reports varied as to how many and to whom, varying from rulers to powerful merchants, but all the accounts agreed that they were rich. They had not as of yet done anything to disturb the peace, but it was obvious that these were no mere travellers; and as they seemed to be heading directly for the capital anyway, the Pharaoh had agreed to have them escorted straight to the Palace. The previous night, a young messenger from the escort had arrived, to say that they were no more then a day's travel behind him. Immediately, things burst into hurried but ordered action. When they arrived, everything needed to be welcoming but also, more importantly, a reminder of the Pharaoh's power and what they risked going up against.

"I see them!" Someone shouted, from the second viewpoint on the Western wall of the Palace grounds. "They're approaching the city wall!"

The Captain did not need to get permission to leave. Seto was already ahead of him, leading the way.

"Where?" He demanded.

"Over there, master." The guard replied. Seto followed the man's point, squinting. Then he, to, could see it. Just outside the city walls was something that resembled nothing more then a large, moving eye- a speck of black, with white all around it and a brown rim of the guards horses. Straining his eyes, he could just make out the movement of each individual horse. One thing was sure, and that was he would not have sighted them were it not for the keen-eyed guard.

"Good work." Seto said. "They'll be here within the hour. Ring the bell."

"Yes, sir!" The man hurried off to do so, but Seto did not spare a moment to ensure his order was being followed, already hastening off to meet with the Pharaoh and the other guardians.

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"Seto, there you are… What took you so long?"

"The Captain and I were out with the Guard." Seto explained, gesturing to the man behind him. "I got here just as quickly as I could."

"Never mind that now." Atem said, before Seto could be reprimanded any further. "How long until they arrive?"

"Less then an hour, majesty." The Captain responded. Atem nodded.

"Fine. Just remember that we don't know what these people want." He gestured at Isis, who stood just off to one side. "I was just informing the others, Seto, that Isis believes their intentions to be peaceful."

"That is correct." Isis confirmed. "I cannot see anything to worry us about these people."

"We should still be on our guard." Seto insisted, frowning.

"Yes." The Pharaoh agreed, although he still looked a little amused. "Any strangers should be dealt with carefully. However, the chances are, they merely seek trading; or refuge. There is trouble to the East, is there not?"

"Yet these came from the West." Seto reminded him. "We have no indication of what it is they desire whatsoever."

"If that is the case," Atem answered "Then all that remains to be done is to wait and see what our 'rich visitors' want… At least this way, we can do so on our own terms."

Seto nodded his agreement.

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They had been travelling solidly since sun-up, and now the shadows were short and centred, the sun beating down on them from directly above. Still, they showed no signs of slowing down. And, just as every day precluding it, they didn't seem to be any closer. She could feel her black horse tiring underneath her, trying to keep up with the browns of the Egyptians. She knew that those she had brought with her were having similar problems. Despite the weeks of travelling, the horses were not used to the temperatures and terrains of Egypt, and neither was she nor her ladies-in-waiting. None of them were comfortable on horse back, and they could not keep this up any longer.

"Azreal." She muttered to the woman next to her, who was whispering insults to the horse she was none-to-happily riding on in a soothing and encouraging tone. Unfortunately, the horse didn't seem to be taken in. If only they could have flown. "I need you to go and convince our escort to pause for breath, please. The horses simply can't take this pace any longer!" Seeing that the woman beside her did not completely comprehend, she added more slowly "Go and request that we stop for a time. The horses need a rest."

"_Pé jenté_." Azreal replied, determinedly. Kaho looked at her. She knew that she was supposed to use the native language, no matter how much or little she knew. "I… shall." Azreal corrected herself. The leader of this band of men was terribly stubborn, but if any of them could convince him, it would be Azreal, fluent or not. She spurred the horse on, coaxing it to pick up it's feet just a little more, and caught up with the leader of the band. He glanced over as she drew up beside him, slowing his pace ever so slightly.

"The Queen requests that we stop for a time." She informed him.

"Sorry, miss, no can do." He replied, not even considering it. Azreal frowned. He would regret making her life difficult. They began to head up a hill, automatically meaning that their pace was slowed and they could easily conduct conversation.

"The… horsesneed a rest." She insisted, her language slow and halting as she tried to remember the words Kaho had used over the previous days and weeks. "The Queen _requests_ that we stop for a time."

"No can do!" He repeated, just as firmly.

"Why?" She demanded, irritated. She was sick of travelling, and of riding these beasts... How far could they be? "_Jei!_"

"You see, Miss…" He answered, as they reached the summit of the hill. "We're already here." He gestured a wide curve with his arm, and, indeed, it was an amazing view, looking down on what was undoubtedly the most powerful city in all the nations.

Azreal may not have understood the words, but the view was clear enough. Snapping her gaze away from the view, she spun the horse around, and headed back down a little way to her leader.

"Are we stopping?" She asked, magnificent upon their only black horse.

"We're here!" Azreal informed her, quite forgetting formalities in her excitement. "_Inp_ Kaho, _ka're jun_! We _kyan_ _pun_!"

Kaho smiled. "That's wonderful. But you mustn't forget to address me properly while we're in public, Azreal."

Azreal went red. She couldn't afford to slip up like that in the Pharaoh's court. "_Doneet_, _In_- um, majesty."

"Yes, but you need to ensure you do not use our words here! Tell the others we've arrived." Kaho instructed. "I'm going to the top." She convinced the horse to give a final spurt of speed, heading up the hill. Azreal headed just behind her, in order to inform the others of this exciting turn of events.

"Thank the _teffet_!" The eldest among them declared. "_Pé _almost thought we'd be riding those horses for the _muuwall_ _er pwao aueoi_!"

The others offered their whole-hearted agreement.

"Would you ladies hurry?" The guard that had hung back with them asked. "I too am longing to see the city again!"

They needed no further encouragement.

"_Dras!_"

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When they rode through the city streets, they had attracted stares from the darker-skinned locals, which had faded into whispers as they passed. However, when reaching the Palace, it was all the travellers could do but conceal their stares. The place was gargantuan.

"It's an _injid…_" Azreal whispered in awe. "Itcould swallow _Muwal Sarnes_ _quek_!" One of the hardest parts of the journey had been keeping to the language of the Egyptians, and now, in the excitement, she forgot it completely, ignoring the confusion of the guards. "_Pé tyet op'ip puno et e sarne!_"

"_Dras…" _Kaho agreed. "_Puno kadae..."_

One of the guards coughed, snapping them out of their stupor, and back to the reality of their situation- guests in a foreign nation, where only the ruler's good will was keeping them alive. Kaho swallowed. She had to approach this with tact.

"_Don- _sorry." Kaho had to quickly stop herself, half her mind still taken up by the Palace's beauty, surrounding and towering over them. "My apologies."

The guard snorted, gesturing at them to dismount. Dubiously, Kaho nodded, and they all climbed down. A series of stable hands materialised and lead the horses that had carried them the distance so faithfully away.

"_Bidé, andra injid!" _Azreal called after the white horse, delightedly. The steed snorted back in her direction in a dismissive way. Azreal waved a fist at it in irritation. "_Si Fu-!"_

"Azreal!" Kaho reprimanded, sharply, before adding in a whisper "_Cen sianpé!" _

"Yes." Azreal sighed, remembering her promise to behave formally while they were here- _including _speaking a language she only half-knew, a lot of which she'd picked up off the guard. She was _trying_, it was just so _hard _not to forget herself…

"I'm counting on you." Kaho whispered. "You, Azreal, more so then any of the others. Do not let me down." She began striding toward the prominent entrance to the inner palace, every inch the confident Queen. Only inside was she secretly scared for the future of her race…

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The doors opened painfully slowly. They were a magnificent feat of engineering, strong and grand; they'd stand up to any attack. It took four men just to open them, and when they were, a surplus of light flooded into the room, like water bursting over the banks of the Nile. That water was deceptive, appearing to cause so much damage, but breathing life back into the land. Seto hoped that the same could be said of these foreigners.

They were entering now, at the far end of the long throne room, the coloured columns standing along the sides, each gap another doorway to another part of the palace. With each doorway they passed, they were a moment closer. Even Atem himself was sitting forward slightly, eagerly, trying to catch sight of them.

'Them' proved to be a group of females, which was surprising. Not a man among them that was not in the Pharaoh's employment. They were lead by a single person, who carried herself proudly, her posture suggesting confidence, not humility. Behind her came another seven or so, the two directly behind her standing out the most to him. One was young, the other very old, so old that she required the assistance of the woman- more of a girl- beside her. But the lines in her face contained wisdom, the wrinkles round her eyes evident of all she'd seen, and Seto could see why she was important. As he observed this odd couple following their leader, the young one caught his eye. Her mouth twitched, beginning a smile, before she remembered her place and looked away, keeping her face fixed stonily ahead despite her obvious desire to look around at her beautiful surroundings.

Upon reaching a suitable length, the woman at the group's head bowed low, falling gracefully to the floor in a very controlled movement. Behind her, the other women mimicked this to the best of their ability, although the elderly woman required some assistance in doing so. It was a wonder she'd survived the journey. Despite the long distances they had reportedly crossed, their skin was far paler then their own. The same could not be said for their clothes; reds and browns and oranges and greens and blues; but not purple. Good. At least they knew that purple was the Pharaoh's right alone… But the colour proved they were rich. Otherwise, that privilege they could not afford.

Seto took their stillness to get a proper look at them- not their clothes, they had told him all they could. He studied their leader more closely. She seemed to be aware of all the eyes on her, though hers were fixed on the floor. She was breathing quite hard, a sign of nerves she couldn't quite smother. She was not adorned in a large amount of gold like their own ruler, if that was what she was. All she had to differentiate her from the others was a thin silver collar keeping her cloak attached, and another around her head, two thin strands of gold twisted together in a simple but beautiful way. He had no idea how they did that. No goldsmith he knew, however talented, could forge something so fine and fiddly, so intricate. He was surprised by the idea that the ruler was a woman, but it certainly appeared that way. He suspected she was the single person with the black horse.

What he could not fathom was what they could possibly want.

"Please, rise." Atem's voice rang out into the silence, echoing down the many corridors. "And introduce yourself."

The leader did, although those behind her stayed put on the ground. The girl who had almost smiled at him before began to straighten, but the old woman grabbed her arm before she got too far.

"_Sarad! Danet!" _She whispered, all too audibly in the echoing room. The youngerwoman coloured, biting her lip. Seto couldn't feel more then a passing irritation, though. He had made the same kind of mistakes on his original entry into court life. This woman hadn't even been brought up in their country, after all.

Ignoring the interruption, the leader stood, although, Seto noted, she avoided making eye contact with the Pharaoh. He had to give her praise for researching their customs. True, when she spoke, she spoke their language well, although it was accented.

"Great Pharaoh, I shall give you my name only to show my respect." She answered, steadily. This only made Seto more likely to think she was the ruler of these people, otherwise giving her name to a stranger would be of no value. However, giving her name to the Pharaoh would indeed show a great respect, and was almost a sign of loyalty. "My name is Kaho. I am the leader of my nation."

"And what is this nation of which you speak, Queen?" the Pharaoh asked. He looked amused again. That man smiled too much. "I do not recognise your clothes nor the lilt of your voice. Nor have I heard of any nation lead by a woman."

"I may be a woman, sir, but do not allow that to let you think any less of me." She responded. "I am proud of my kingdom, however small it is, and I would defend it as fiercely as anything else living upon this world."

"You did not answer my question." Atem pointed out. "What is your kingdom?"

"We have no name any more." She responded, sounding greatly saddened by the fact. "Many years ago, while my great grandfather reigned, we were a large people. Then we were attacked, and my ancestor fell. Our populace was scattered to the winds, carried to all the corners of the Earth. We are only a small nation in comparison to your mighty kingdom, wonderful Pharaoh." She paused before continuing. "We inhabit where no-one else can, in a range of distant mountains. We have travelled far to be here." Seto nodded despite himself. Well, that would explain the variety of colours- the plants of the hills would provide them.

"I see." Atem considered. "And what is it that brings you to my court?"

"We need help." The Queen answered simply. "As I say, we are but a small people, and there are others who would seek to make it smaller."

"You wish for refuge?" Atem asked. She shook her head firmly.

"No, Pharaoh. We wish to fight." She answered, steadily. "Your kingdom alone is legendary for mystic creatures. That is particularly what we wish for. We wish to learn to defend ourselves."

The room fell into a silence that spoke more words then any speech could. The members of the Pharaoh's court were stunned. Never had such a request been expected, for never had such a request been made.

"I see." Atem replied, carefully. "And, tell me, what benefit would this be to us? How do I know that you won't simply come up against us?"

Kaho carefully removed the ring from her head. "Note the gold so fine, king." She gestured at the woman behind her. "Note how even one so old is fit enough to make the journey. See the colours in our clothes." She hesitated before continuing. "Your nation is not the only one to hold secrets."

Atem considered her. Then he started chuckling. "Very well, Kaho, Queen of the Nameless Place, let me discuss with my councillors. Then perhaps we shall share our secrets." He smiled. "But let us speak no more of such things this night. For, this night, we shall feast in your honour!"

"You are eternally kind, Pharaoh. We are in your debt."

Behind her, Seto shook his head in exasperation. He hadn't been expecting a feast. He really should have done. The fact was, Atem loved the excuse to party.

Two servants materialised from one of the many hallways, bowing respectfully before taking the guests to the chambers they'd be using. The women that had accompanied Kaho finally stood, a little stiffly, and followed. Atem waited until they were surely out of earshot before speaking.

"So, what do you make of it all?" He turned to his right hand side, knowing exactly who would have an input. "Seto, what do you think?"

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The Pharaoh was indeed most generous. There were three rooms, leading off one another, getting progressively smaller. Kaho, however, was too preoccupied to admire their surroundings. She was worried. She needed the King of Egypt to accept their offer… What if after the meal he just turned them away? They couldn't stand up to any more attacks…

"_Inp _Kaho…" Azreal whispered. _"Danet lera. Pun ca geg hashin." _

"You mean…" Kaho prompted. "You cannot keep speaking our language here, Azreal!"

"_Jei et?" _Azreal demanded, grumpily. _"Et-dono jun!"_

Kaho sighed. "Azreal, you know I consider you a friend. But now, I am _ordering _you that, as long as we are in the Pharaoh's court, you will speak his language to the best of your ability! We must respect their culture. Are we clear?"

"Yes."

"Thank you. Now, repeat what you said."

"I said not to, um... _hashin…_ It will be… fine?"

"Thank you." Kaho took her and the old woman by the arm, leading them into the second room and leaving the other ladies-in-waiting behind, closing the door behind them. The message was clear- they were not to be disturbed.

Away from her official standing, Kaho allowed herself to collapse onto the floor. Azreal and Sierra, the old wise woman, stood awkwardly. "What do you think of it all?" Kaho asked, from her arms.

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"I think…" Seto said, uncertainly. "That her intentions are clear enough. What we don't know is if they are the right side to back in this war she spoke of. We know nothing of the circumstance. As you said, Pharaoh, we have no clue whether they are in the right or the wrong." The others nodded in agreement. "Also, I don't think these 'servants' she brought with her are to be underestimated, particularly the old woman and the one who supported her. They know more then they reveal. I have no doubt that their nation has secrets locked away."

Atem nodded. "So, you felt it to…That is exactly what I thought. Perhaps the feast will loosen their tongues." Aha. There had been a system to his celebration after all. How devious.

"I have a suggestion, my king." Isis put in. "You will be here to deal with the Queen, with one of us. Perhaps those of us left should keep her servants watched. For once, I agree with Seto's suspicions. There is something unusual about the auras of these people."

"Very well." Atem nodded. "Sort it out amongst yourselves. Each take one of the women. Do not let them know what you're doing. If they prove untrustworthy, the very fate of this kingdom could be in your hands and eyes! Now," He smiled. "Let us enjoy a celebration."

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"Very well, Azreal." Kaho sighed, nodding. "As Sierra here seems to think it's a good idea, do as you will… I agree that there may be more to his 'advisors' then it seems. Keep an eye on them."

Azreal wanted to say that she knew exactly who she would watch, the Priest who had looked at her in such suspicion, but in this language she did not have the words. So, instead, she just said: "Yes."

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The feast was not so much a celebration but a farce. The entertainment was the best in all Egypt, but no-one was really watching it. Instead, they were all watching each other. Seto could see all the other guardian's eyes either fixed on the Queen, seated in the place of honour by the Pharaoh's side, or of the old wise woman next to her. But he couldn't help feeling that their suspicions lay in the wrong place.

Kaho's Ladies-in-Waiting were seated at their own table, talking amongst themselves in broken Egyptian or in their own language. And there she was, the one who had supported the old woman. Seto had no real regard for the others, but he was certain this one was no mere servant…

She turned around, catching his eye. This time, she did smile. It was a predatory smile. But then she looked away, catching the eye of her Queen instead, who, in turn, spoke quietly to the Pharaoh, who stood. Instantly, all the people at all the tables fell silent.

"I understand that our guests have some entertainment to provide." He said.

The LIW looked at each other, nervously. Then, apparently realising they couldn't argue with a direct order from the Pharaoh, the ten filled out into the central, square space. The old woman did not stand, instead pulling a wooden pipe from the folds of her robes.

The ten stood in three rows of three, with one at the front. All was silent, still, waiting. Then, as one body, they began stamping their feet in a clear rhythm. As the Pharaoh sat again, those on the edges of the row began clapping the beat to, as those in the middle of the three rows and columns pulled out wooden pipes or stringed instruments. Dubiously, the people seated around the edge of the room started clapping along. When the Pharaoh joined in, so did everyone else. Still, as the patterns got more complicated, the rhythms could not hoped to be followed, only the beat could be kept. Then, the instruments joined the melee of sounds.

It was unlike anything Seto had ever heard before. So bright and cheerful. So was the dancing. Even he could not tear his gaze away. The steps seemed to speak, clapping and tapping rhythms he could not follow, singing in a voice made up of feet tapping on stone and wood. He did not even notice the Queen leaving her seat as the woman at the front gave up her space in the limelight to another. The rows split and spread out, merged again, formed circles, spinning round and round. They moved in, and as they went wide once again, there was the Queen in their centre, in their midst. How she had got there no-one knew. But it didn't seem to matter so much as they began singing.

Seto didn't understand the words, but he didn't have to. They were strange and foreign, and, what's more, all the different pitches seemed to be singing different songs. The Queen was dancing among them, beautiful. And there, on the edge, he saw the suspicious one, singing with all her heart, eyes closed. Then, for just a moment, her voice raised above all the others.

_"Muwal Sarnes, sarne er li, Fet, Teffet, Tef…"_

Another person echoed it, and another, and another, each repeating it as more joined in, the instruments mimicking the sounds, rising to an immense roar. And still, they danced- their footsteps keeping the beat no matter how intricate the steps. There was something almost spiritual, ritualistic, about it. Never had he heard such joy in a song.

Then, suddenly, abruptly, they stopped, and the room fell into silence, stunned.

The Pharaoh brought his hands together, and others joined in. Yet, the applause was not as important as the acceptance it showed. The one who he suspected met his eye once again. She smiled. She did not look away until someone demanded her attention, getting her to try some delicacy or another.

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It was early the next morning when the two separate surveillance operations began, and it cannot be claimed that they started as well as hoped.

"Azreal." Kaho called, softly, emerging from the chamber into the one Sierra and Azreal had slept in. Her ever-faithful Lady was sleeping in the doorframe, so that no-one could get to her Queen without going through her first. No-one could ask for as loyal and fierce a subject, and as faithful a friend. She really would be lost without her. "Azreal. Rouse yourself."

"_Ren Pé tyet farren si, Pé tyet com lai tessal… _Azreal groaned.

"Yes you _do _have to listen, regardless of whether you understand or not." Kaho replied, trying to sound firm, whilst suppressing a laugh. "Come, now. I have a job for you. And, please, speak the local tongue."

"How can you?" Azreal demanded, the concentration evident on her face as she struggled both with the unfamiliar words, and to her feet. For a moment, the short dagger hidden in the folds of her clothes was visible, but with the quickness that comes with practise, she concealed it hastily; strapping her cloak, which had been masquerading as a blanket, back on. "Speak so good?"

"Well, Azreal." Kaho corrected. "But to answer your question… My tutor had spent some time here in Egypt. He was the one who told me the stories, the stories of the monsters that they could call on in times of need… He taught me the language, in case I ever needed it. I am grateful for the learning, but I wish I had never needed it." She sighed.

Azreal didn't look as though she'd comprehended a single world.

"Worry not." Kaho told her, wanting to laugh again. "You'll learn soon enough." Then, in case there was any doubt remaining, she added: "_Lera et. Si ca farren muuwall!" _

Azreal grinned. "Please, speak the local tongue!" She mimicked. Perhaps she _had _picked something up, after all.

"Very well. Now, get away with you!" Kaho answered, exasperated, wafting her arms towards the door so she would get the idea. "We must learn all we can of these people- I of the Pharaoh, and you of his advisors!"

The gesture was easy enough to understand. Azreal gave a brief bow, and left, carefully avoiding the elderly Sierra, into the third and outermost chamber where the others were. She woke them as she passed, cheerfully shouting: "_Uzes loppi! _Hep, hep! _Namo fet o keppa! Si, si, carn si! __Hep!"_

She made her exit before Kaho could come and chastise her any further, making her way down lit stone corridors, never seeing a soul. She had no idea where to find who she sought, and did not even know her way around the palace. The corridors seemed an endless labyrinth. She suspected there could be a hundred lost souls wandering eternally, and they would never meet. The place was truly immense. Azreal had never considered her nation, while small, as poor. However, surrounded and smothered by this wealth, she truly understood how tiny they were in comparison. So insignificant. Why would the Pharaoh ever help them?

As she turned a corner, the light got brighter, and it was not light of the sort which would come from the burning torches that had shone so brightly the night before. This could only be daylight. Smiling, Azreal ran towards it, trying to ignore the small voice at the back of her mind which was beginning to wonder how in all the sky she was going to find her way back.

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There was a soft thump as someone brushed through the curtain that hung over the entrance to the temple. This sound came as a surprise to Seto. Ra had begun his journey only perhaps an hour before, so he had not been expecting anyone yet. Frowning, he left the private rooms in the centre of the temple to see just who was out there.

And there she was. The very one he'd been intending on watching, standing just inside the temple, looking around in interest, looking very confused as she breathed in the incense. He watched her trace the smell back to the burning stick on the wall, and saw her expression clear. She stepped towards it, as if to investigate further, when he cleared his throat and made himself known to her. She jumped, swinging round. Then she composed herself, and bowed respectfully. Seto returned it, but not as deeply; really no more then a nod with a slight inclination at the waist.

"Good morning." He said.

"Good morning." She answered, slowly. Besides the slight echoes of their words reverberating off the stone walls, there was no other sound.

"I'm surprised that you would come to a place such as this." Seto said, almost accusingly. "Do you not have your own gods to follow?"

She blinked, looking as confused as ever. "…No?" She tried.

Seto gazed at her, not hiding it. "Do you understand any word I say?" To his relief, she knew what he meant.

"Yes!" She answered. "…small?"

"A little, then." He mused.

"A little." She agreed.

"Hmm…" Seto muttered. This would make things a little more difficult, if communication was all but impossible…

_"Pé tyre piu!" _She was insisting._ "Si tyre pui pa!_" Seeing that he understood her language even less then she understood his, she considered, before eventually saying "Teach me."

"Teach you?" Seto was astounded. "Is this before or after we teach you to summon monsters?" But the pointed question was lost. Quite clearly, she did not understand him. He sighed mentally. Yes, he was meant to keep a watch on her, but he could tell it was to be a long trial… "Well… We shall see. Come." He said, beckoning her to follow. "I will show you the city."

"Your city." She repeated, quietly.

"Yes. My city." He turned to face her. "But, first, tell me. Do you have a name?"

She bit her lip in concentration, but eventually shook her head.

"Your name." Seto repeated, slowly, hoping it had just been the sheer amount of words and the speed he had said them which had confused her. Indeed, she did seem to understand this time.

"Azreal. My name- Azreal." She bowed again slightly, desperate to convey the respect she wanted to show through actions when she did not have the words. "And you? Your name, what?"

Seto considered for a moment before telling her. He wasn't sure if he should. But perhaps the easiest way to keep an eye on her was to be friendly with her. So he would introduce himself properly. "My name is Seto." He replied.

He didn't know what reaction he was expecting, but it wasn't a laugh.

"Sorry!" She said, again and again, sounding horrified at herself as she kept giggling. "Sorry!"

Unfortunately, she could not explain what was so amusing. She did not know the words. Which, perhaps, was all the more reason to teach her…

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After a lot of talking, advice from Sierra or Isis in each of their cases, Kaho and the Pharaoh managed to secure a deal. The Egyptians would teach her and her ladies to summon the creatures inside them, should they be there; and in return for their efforts, they would show the Egyptians how to spin gold so fine it could have been used for silk, gold and metals so fine they could be used for almost anything.

"When shall we start?" Kaho asked, adding, by way of explanation "We are eager to begin so we can get home all the sooner."

"Then let us start now." The Pharaoh replied, easily. "From this day on, after midday we shall teach you. In the morning you shall teach us. And so, we may share knowledge. Isis," Here he turned to his advisor. "Please ring the bell to summon the others. They could be anywhere." Isis said nothing, but bowed and left.

"Thank you, sir." Kaho said, bowing once again. "I cannot tell you how grateful I am."

"You will be able to show us soon enough…"

"Yes." Kaho nodded, straightening. "I have some very good metal workers with me."

"I don't doubt it. However, there is one thing that puzzles me…" Atem began, slowly. "If it is fighting you wish to learn, why have you not brought any of your warriors with you?"

Kaho smiled to herself. It never occurred to anyone that perhaps she had. That the women she had brought with her were just as capable as any of their men. But it would not be wise to let them know that. Instead, she answered simply. "We are not here to fight, my king. If I had come accompanied by my most heavily armed forces, then you would not have accepted my intentions as peaceful. We are here to learn, and I believe that my Ladies will be best equipped to learn quickly. The soldiers can be taught later. We do not wish to take advantage of your graceful charity for too long."

This appeared to be an acceptable answer, as Atem nodded. Good. Now all that remained was to wait for those the Pharaoh was summoning and to listen, to look, and to learn all they could; in the lessons, and outside of them.

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They wandered the city for many hours that morning, mostly silently. Azreal did not speak much. But she listened. She learned a considerable amount; and not just of the language. She noticed that Seto was treated with a lot of respect wherever he went, which just made her assumption that he was very important more solid. She was sure of it.

Much of the city was not of interest to her. It was very similar to their own, back in the mountains, except on a far larger scale. And it was far, far warmer. She was sweltering in the thick cloak she wore. Bright red in colour, now going slightly brown and dirty from the constant dusts and sands of this infernal place, it was thick and heavy, designed for the heavy snow winters of the mountains. Her escort, the Priest- she tried not to think of his name lest she became hysterical again- was much more suitably dressed, in thin linen; but on no account would she take the cloak off. That was not something she was going to reveal. Sooner or later, they'd have to reveal their secrets of metal work and medicines and of plants, but perhaps it was best some things were kept to themselves…

A sound came to her ears. A sound she knew all too well, as something sounded, hitting against metal. But it was too harsh, too heavy, it made her wince. Just what did these Egyptians think they were doing!

"We're near the forges." Seto told her what she'd already realised, and she understood what he meant. "I anticipate the time when you'll show us your… expertise."

Azreal did not comprehend the second half of the sentence, but she wasn't paying attention anyway. That awful sound was penetrating her mind, making her mutter some things that she would not translate even if she could, before adding "_De ske ica_!"

"What?" Seto demanded.

"_De ske ica._" Azreal repeated. "It means… um… you are…" She waved her arms around, making an odd roaring noise to demonstrate something akin to exasperation.

"…I see…" Seto said slowly, not entirely sure he did. "And what might it be to educe such an emotion?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but the only sound that came was the tolling of a bell. Seto turned to look in the direction it had come from, frowning.

"Bad?" Azreal asked, from behind him.

"No." Seto replied. "But we must return to the Palace immediately."

"_Si geter lai e clay...?" _She wondered aloud, knowing full well that he would not understand, but not intending him to. "That's funny…"

"What is?"

"I can't explain. No words, no words!"

"…I see."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

'Teaching' these people to summon up monsters of their own was easier said then done, especially as it was really only the Queen who spoke the language well- although the others improved noticeably with every day that passed. They supposed the best thing to do was demonstrate- there was not a citizen in Egypt who could not summon a monster of some sort, though the powers varied greatly. They were not even sure if these foreigners could do it.

Although very little progress was made in that one area, they proved themselves in others. They had a lot to learn about sword play, but learnt it fast. Any misgivings about their gender holding them back were dispelled as they learnt faster then anyone. The Egyptians supposed it must be some strange custom of their nameless country. After that first afternoon, they did not even bother with archery. They were established archers, all. It came from living on a mountainous terrain.

That was just the afternoons. In the mornings, the Egyptians saw the best of their arts- it was truly amazing what could be done with plants. They were shown everything from dyes to medicines and even some poisons and their antidotes. They also saw the way they worked their metals. It was strange, to say the least. Rather then hammering the shapes out, they treated it very delicately. Often, the only tools they used were twigs- some even used their hands, burning their palms severely but not seeming to notice it as it was so normal. The trick seemed to be acting fast, so that skin and sticks would not set on fire, but gently. The Blacksmiths were indeed learning to make many things, from the most delicate trinkets to other useful items. Although he was not required to participate, Seto would go and watch. He liked to know what was going on.

However, he was beginning to wonder exactly what was going on. It seemed to be crazy. The metal had been in the furnace so long, too long. Surely, it was getting dangerously close to it's liquid form now? He was not the only one to think so. One of the forge hands dashed forward, obviously intending to remove it, but Seto put an arm out to stop him. He wanted to see where this was going…

This morning, three of the ladies in waiting were there. He knew their names from Azreal; there was Daedalus, Ferra, and Azreal herself, looking serious, all armed with long sticks; and holding their own conversation.

"_Turu?" _Azreal asked.

"_Sarad. Haji…" _The one called Daedalus answered, pausing. _"…_Turu!_"_

The three leapt forward together, pushing the sticks into the furnace. Seto expected them to come back out on fire, but the three removed them as swiftly as they had put them in. They came back out whole, and between them, the metal, almost molten, clung grimly on; stuck to all three sticks. Hastily, the three women all took a step back in opposite directions, teasing the metal out between them. In their hands, Seto noticed, they were rotating the sticks as fast as they could, causing the solidifying metal to twist up. Then they passed their stick onto the next person, and they all kept swapping sticks, and as the metal became stiffer, a kind of misshapen sphere was formed, patterned like a spider web. They removed the sticks and laid it down to cool.

"What is it?" Seto demanded, as it didn't look like they were about to offer any explanations. "Some kind of cage?"

"Heat." Azreal replied, turning to face him. She spoke a lot better now. "And light. A torch. We call it a _Kashin_."

"That does not look like a torch."

"Burning wood is inside." Azreal told him, pointing to a hole in the top of the small ball-like creation. "Hung up, it can't fall out. The wood burns longer then a torch- no wind, hot… when it's all gone, the…cage… is hot. Keep you hot."

"I see." Seto said, once again. He tried to keep his face blank, although he privately thought it was a good idea. Even if it was never really cold in Egypt.

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The next morning, as dawn was fading into the brilliance of the day, Azreal arrived back at the temple just as expected, just as she had every day. Now, while this was convenient for Seto, who was meant to be watching her, her interest in his affairs was slightly concerning. Unfortunately, he had learnt very little about her. It was frustrating. Her lack of the language made her even more guarded. As she learnt more, he had hoped that she would open up more, but it seemed it was not to be. As for him, while he told her nothing of his personal affairs, more and more of their culture was laid bare to her, while he knew little of hers. He was not even aware of her race's name!

"You seem remarkably interested in our customs." He commented to her. "Particularly mine. I am beginning to wonder if you are watching me!" He said it in a joking tone, but they both knew it was anything but.

"No." She denied, smiling. Suddenly, she was remarkably fluent, though her accent was as strong as ever. "And you know it, Sir. If you really thought I was… watching you, you would have had me removed already." The smile widened. "Although, perhaps you are watching me also."

They both laughed. But they both knew nothing was funny.

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As it turned out, Seto had no reason to feel inadequate. That evening, when the torches, far outshined by the various new _Kashin _supplied by their guests were being lit up, the Pharaoh gathered all the guardians to his throne room to see how the situation was going, what they had found out. No-one had found anything as they tailed their various people. The total of the knowledge extended to the fact that they were a mountainous nation, who had a liking so particular for brightly coloured cloaks that they wore them despite the temperature, spoke a strange language, were skilled archers, metal workers, and herbalists, that they were unspeakably bad at summoning monsters, which any one of them had yet to succeed in, and had a very strange aura. It was not much.

"This is useless!" Seto exploded. "We've tried being tactful, and it has not worked! Pharaoh, I suggest that if we want to find out what these people are hiding from us, Shadi and I travel to the Queen's chambers this night and test her mind."

Atem considered. "Their skills have proved useful." He pointed out. "We cannot risk offending them."

"They are more desperate for our help then we are for theirs." Seto pointed out. "Besides, an essential part of the plan is getting away unnoticed. We have no choice."

"Very well." Atem sighed. "Do as you think best, Seto."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- (A/N: For the sake of convenience, the following scene has been 'translated')

Kaho sighed, staring out from the balcony over the city. Even by night, lit only by the stars and moon, dots of a torch occasionally flaring up like a firefly, it was truly magnificent. Yet it was not hers.

"_Miss Kaho?" _Azreal said, tentatively, as she appeared at her elbow. _"Are you alright?"_

"Egyptian, please." Kaho said, monotonously. "You speak almost as well as I do now."

_"Please trust my judgement in that, for this conversation, I think it would be best if our hosts did not understand us." _Azreal replied, sheepishly. Kaho turned her attention away from the city.

_"Very well… What is it?"_

_"Answer my question first." _Azreal laughed.

_"I was just thinking of home." _Kaho said, dampening the mood slightly. _"I feel we've been away too long! Anything could have happened! I've left my country, left my duties, and so far all for naught. I'm so worried I'll return to nothing but a ruin…"_

Azreal placed a hand on her friend's elbow. They were friends, even if their day to day lives were covered by formality. When they were in private, they were just two girls who had grown up together; one who had been born into nobility, one into servitude. But when the working day was over, they were really just old friends. Azreal had been born to one of her father's generals, but he had died in battle. Kaho's father, wreaked in grief of losing both one of his best friends and best soldiers, in that order, invited Azreal and her mother to come and live and work at the Palace. He had asked that Azreal become a companion to Kaho, who had no friends her own age within Muwal Sarne's walls. The two could not remember a time when they had not known each other, when they had not been friends, and that would not change. It hadn't when their respective parents had died, and it would not now, however hard it got. _"Don't worry. You haven't left your duties. You've travelled all this way to ensure the safety of our people! As for it being all for naught… well, I don't know about that. I felt something today…" _She put a clenched fist to her chest. _"Cold fire. And I heard Hareap say the same thing. I think we're close, Miss Kaho, really close! Then we can all go home- and I shall be glad of it!"_

_"So will I." _Kaho admitted. _"How is the situation with…" _A smile tugged at her lips as she tried to force herself to say his name, before giving up. _"…The Priest?" _She finished. Azreal looked serious.

_"Not well." _She sighed. _"He is as suspicious as ever. The others have noticed the Guardians watching them, to. Sooner or later they'll wonder why we do not remove our cloaks. Once they find out what they are hiding, I doubt our welcome will be extended. But the temptation to discard them is great. We are all suffering greatly with them and the heat…"_

_"Then we must hurry." _Kaho nodded. _"If we learn how to use these creatures, we'll be fine. But if we are discovered…" _She trailed off, miserably.

_"You must stop worrying." _Azreal said, kindly. _"Come. I think it is time for sleep."_

_"How can I, after all this?"_

Azreal smirked, and, from a fold in her robes, pulled out a small plant.

_"Where did you get that?" _Kaho gasped.

_"The temple." _Azreal shrugged. _"Can you believe that they mix it up with all their weeds and make it into incense? They do not know it's value!" _She passed the plant to Kaho, who inhaled it's characteristic scent in relief.

_"It is relaxing." _She admitted, smiling for the first time that day. _"Maybe I can sleep after all… But I dread to think what else you have hidden on your person."_

_"Water has been sent up." _Azreal informed her, avoiding the question. _"Mix the patchouli in- a wash will help. Please, try to get some sleep, Kaho. I will be just outside the door."_

_"…Thank you." _

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The foreigners were staying in a set of three rooms, which the guards let them into without protest. On the corridor was the room where the lesser of the Ladies in Waiting were sleeping. They did not wake when Seto and Shadi slid past into the second room. In here, there was the old woman, and Azreal. Seto smirked. He had _known _she had some greater importance then the rest. Unfortunately, she was spread across the doorway to the Queen's chamber, blocking the way. Seto froze, but he needn't have worried. She was sleeping peacefully and deeply, her cloak now being used as a blanket. Gesturing at Shadi, he began to step carefully over her. Then he felt a sharp pain in his shin.

"One more step." Azreal's distinctive accent hissed quietly from below him, where she was pressing a dagger into his ankle. "And you shall find yourself quite legless, _good sir_."

Seto frowned. This was bad. He had not been expecting this. He had not realised, in all this time, that she was armed. "Allow me to pass." He demanded, though he did not move. "It is my duty to protect the Pharaoh against any potential threat!"

"And it is mine to do exactly the same for the Queen." She responded, steadily. "I will not let you pass."

"Perhaps…" Shadi began tentatively. "We could come to some sort of compromise?"

Seto glared at him from where he was still stood with one leg on either side of her. It already looked fairly compromising to him.

"Such as?" Azreal asked. "You are sneaking into the Queen's room. She would not be happy about it. And I wonder if your Pharaoh would?"

On the other side of the room, the old woman shifted slightly. Azreal swallowed.

"It would not be good for any of us if anyone was to wake." She pointed out. "Let's talk this elsewhere."

"The East wall." Seto said, immediately. She nodded, and removed the dagger from his leg. But, Seto noted, she did not stand until they were safely out of the room. Now he was certain the cloaks were hiding something…

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He heard her soft footsteps approaching, and turned from looking out to face her. Sure enough, the cloak was back.

"Where is…?" She asked cautiously, trying to gesture that Seto was alone when before there had been two of them.

"He had to leave. He was embarrassed by what happened, but he sends his sincere apologies." Seto lied.

She was either unconvinced or did not understand him, but whatever she was thinking, she did not reply, coming to stand next to him, looking out over the city, dimly lit by moon and stars.

"Why?" She asked, bluntly. "Are you so worried about us? What were you doing?"

Seto did not reply.

"Answer me!" She demanded, sounding angry.

"…We had no choice!" Seto replied, harshly. "There is something different about you people!"

She continued to stare out over the city, but her hands clenched into fists.

"You came here to protect your people." Seto said, more softly. "We are trying to do the same. Protect all this." He swept his arm out over the horizon.

"I can understand…" She muttered. "We have the same sky."

"What do you mean by that?" Seto asked.

"It is a… speech. A word… A…"

"A saying." Seto supplied.

"A saying," She amended herself. "It means that even in different, some is still the same." She craned her neck up to look at the sky. "It means that I can understand… it's beautiful."

"Yes." Seto agreed, knowing almost without thinking that she was now talking about the literal sky. "As a child, I used to stay outside and wait for the stars."

"Stars…" She repeated, trying the word.

"And the moon." Seto added, pointed at the glowing orb, hanging in the sky.

"Moon." She repeated. Then she pointed back at the stars. _"Teffet." _Now the moon. _"Tef."_

"And the Sun?" Seto asked, trying to indicate with his hands what he meant, but she understood.

"_Fet."_

"You sung about them." Seto realised, suddenly. "At the feast…"

"Yes." Azreal nodded._ "_Singing connects us to all things. All things sing. We sing. So we say:_ Fet, Teffet, Tef. _Sun, stars, moon."

"What about the rest?" Seto asked, trying to remember how the first part of the line had gone… but it was impossible.

_"Muwal Sarnes, sarne er li, Fet, Teffet, Tef…" _Azreal muttered. "_Muwal Sarnes. _It is the name of our Palace."

"What does it mean?" Seto wondered. She frowned.

"Um… '_Muwal'…_" She held up her two hands, fingers splayed. Then she closed them, and opened them again. "_Tuan-tuan_."

"Twenty?" Seto mused. "No. A hundred? Is it a large number?"

"Yes."

"A Hundred." Seto nodded to himself. "And… _Sarnes?_"

She considered. "It's in your head… Seeing in sleep…"

"Dreams."

"_Muwal Sarnes._" She repeated.

"A Hundred Dreams." Seto replied. "…Interesting. What about the other part. Dream of…what?"

"_Li_." She repeated. She knew this one. "Dream of togetherness."

"…Your songs are strange." Seto commented.

"So is your… clouds?" She responded, pointing at a stationary black smudge just visible in the now early-dawn light. Seto frowned. He had never seen a storm cloud so still. But it was not windy, he supposed. Still, it wasn't even the season for rain…He squinted, and his heart began pounding. Finally, one of the watchmen saw it to, and cried out. But Seto did not need to hear his shout to know that it was no cloud the woman had seen. It was an approaching army.

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Atem was not getting a good night's rest, to say the least. First, Shadi had awoken him, trying to explain, without making it look like it was their fault, how they were caught trying to break into the Queen's mind, and then a frantic Seto burst into the room announcing an approaching army on the horizon.

Sleep? What is this sleep of which you speak?

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Hundreds of pairs of eyes met each other, hundreds of people trying to stare one other person down. It was not a large army. But if it had got this far into Egypt, unrivalled, Seto was certain it was not to be taken lightly. He gazed back at them, heart pounding. He lived in a peaceful Egypt, not a war-torn one, and so had seen very few battles. But he would fight to defend his home. The brave do not fear the grave… It was just a matter of which leader gave the order to charge first. Still, Seto had to admit he hoped the Pharaoh could talk them out of it. What did these people want…?

He caught sight of a slight movement of colour in the corner of his eye. A red cloak, waving in the light breeze. He dared to remove one eye from the opposing army to glare at them accusingly.

"Why are you here?" He asked of Azreal, and the others with her. Even the Queen was in the centre of them, looking grim.

"Practising our lessons." Azreal answered, seriously.

"You have no weapons."

"Yes we do. And if we did not, fists are just as good."

"You should not be here!" Seto insisted.

"Your Pharaoh is speaking."

Sure enough, Atem was demanding to know why this army was ready to attack them.

"We kill all those who house the demons!"

Atem frowned in confusion. "We have no dispute with you!" He tried. The enemy army just spat on the ground, screaming and yelling. And then they charged.

"Very well!" Atem shouted back, grimly. "Then we shall fight! And we will win!"

Seto had no more time to worry about the foolishness of their guests as the two armies charged at each other. There was barely even time to think, he was too busy trying to avoid being killed, and also trying to avoid killing. They were under strict instructions not to strike fatally where it could be avoided, and he was happy to comply. There had been too much blood shed in this land, it was no wonder the waters of the Nile had once run red…

Beside him, he was aware of Azreal, fighting on, but did not pay her much heed. At least not until her grunts of strain became a cry of pain. He looked towards her as she stumbled forwards, but he dared not look away for long. He just had time to see her cry of pain become one of rage, and, the knife still sticking unnaturally out of her shoulder from where she had been stabbed, she threw her arm back, knocking the offending solider out with the hilt of the weapon he had attempted to stop her with. She turned, panting, to Seto.

"Pull it out!" She screamed. "Pull it out of me!"

Numbly, he did so.

"Thanks." She said, looking around her. Apparently, she saw her Queen under attack, because she yelled "Kaho!", grabbed the knife, still stained with her own blood, from his hand and pounded off back into battle. Her back was hardly bleeding at all, a lot less then he would have thought. Seto stepped after her, ready to help, when something soft came underfoot. He risked looking down.

"Feathers…?"

That was what they were. Trampled and bedraggled and unhealthy looking underfoot, but feathers none the less, too big for any bird he knew…

Then, the sky brightened, and, all around, Egyptians, Allies, and Enemies alike were forced to stop their conflicts and shield their eyes. Seto knew what it was immediately. The Pharaoh had summoned Ra…

Atem had made it to the top of a conveniently placed hill, allowing him to survey all that was going on. Things were getting desperate. The enemy soldiers were trained well, and it was only a matter of time before they were forced to start killing people. That, he did not want. Egypt had seen to much untimely deaths in the past. Not in his reign. Not now.

From the top of his conveniently placed hill, Atem could see everything. This naturally meant that everything could see him. A well-aimed arrow glanced past him, grazing his arm and falling to the ground some metres away. The wound was not deep. He was lucky. But now, this had gone far enough. He had no choice; and so, Atem finally called forth that most mighty of beings, the Winged Dragon of Ra.

Down below, the guests of Egypt got their first glimpse of the legendary Egyptian Gods. Exclamations of surprise and more echoed from their lips, but did not do it justice. Everything that had been said about it was true, and more.

Just as wonder and awe was spreading among the Egyptians and those that stood with them, panic was spreading among the enemy as Atem's voice echoed out from his vantage point.

"Leave!" He commanded. "Take your wounded and get out, or face the wrath of the Gods of Egypt!" He clearly saw them hurrying to comply, he saw his army cheering, saw them chasing the enemies away. But it was a blurred vision. It swayed from side to side, and seems to fade in and out in a most curious fashion…

And then he saw no more.

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After the fury of battle, it was discovered that the army had been after the foreigners all along. They were the ones who had been attacking the Queen's city. They had followed her here. And they would destroy any who stood with her, no matter who it was or how strong the army. And, once their army had been rebuilt, they would undoubtedly strike again.

The battle had been won, but not without cost. Many were injured. And, among them, the Pharaoh. The arrow head that had grazed him had been poisoned, a cowardly trick in Seto's opinion, and so even the slight wound had been enough to get into his blood. People throughout the palace were suffering the same, and worse, and to annoy Seto even more, Azreal and her '_queen' _were now badgering him to be allowed into the room.

"We have learnt how to fight the poisons!" Kaho pleaded. "We have seen it many a time and if you just-!"

"I think you've done enough." Seto snarled.

_"De ske ica!" _Azreal screamed. "I suppose you think _your _medicines can save him!"

"We certainly don't need yours!" He yelled back. "This is all your fault!"

"Then let us put it right…" Kaho begged, quietly.

Seto eyes flashed angrily. "You will do no more here. That general was right. You are demons. All you brought with you was misfortune."

"We could not have known-!" Azreal began, but his look silenced even her abrasive tongue. Seto was well beyond anger, and reason now.

"Get out." He said. "Leave this land, and this kingdom. You are no longer welcome."

"…We have not yet learnt to control monsters!" Kaho protested. "You have seen with your own eyes what we are up against! We cannot hold them off for much longer!"

"I sympathize." Seto spat, sarcastically. "But be that as it may, as long as you are here, all of Egypt is in danger, and I cannot allow that to continue!"

Kaho swallowed hard. "I understand…" She muttered, while Azreal looked like she wanted to protest. "We will go. But, please…" She pressed a small vial of a thick sludge into his hand. You could still make out parts of leaves. "Give this to the Pharaoh. It will soothe his symptoms and he'll get better of his own accord."

Seto hesitated, but then accepted. There was no denying that every other potion and remedy these people had taught them had worked. "Farewell." He said, meeting Azreal's eye for the last time.

_"Bidé."_ She whispered back, turned, and left. Simply walked away, until she was no longer in sight.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+- (A/N: Another 'translated' scene for you!)

They had put a full day's ride between them and the city. Between them and the palace. Between them and the Priest. And they were no further towards unlocking the secret of summoning monsters. The long journey, the arduous training… all it had resulted in was bringing troubles to another nation. It was all a waste. Kaho had no idea how she was going to tell the people upon their return… They had no secrets from Egypt. Their small city had no hope anymore. _Muwal Sarnes… _All shattered.

_"Majesty?" _Daedalus said from behind her. "_There is trouble ahead…_"

Kaho shook her head from her thoughts, all darker and grimmer then the last, to see what the fuss was about. The situation had gotten steadily worse. The army had obviously had reinforcements ready, and they were now marching steadily towards the city. Half the Egyptians were poisoned; and not even the Pharaoh would have recovered yet. There would be no guard to see the approaching threat, and hardly anyone to fight it when it arrived…

_"They are moving towards the other side of the city." _Azreal commented, arriving beside her. _"If we wait until nightfall, they will have gone and we can pass safely."_

_"Yes." _Kaho agreed. _"They obviously do not want our help. We would never be able to get down there fast enough anyway. These horses have gotten fat!"_

_"So we wait."_

_"…Yes. We wait, and then we continue home."_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Some would call it Egypt's darkest hour. Some had seen darker. But either way, things were not looking good for them.

Every man of the city, trained or not, armed or not, was fighting. Poisoned soldiers had stumbled out of bed to do their part. But the Pharaoh was not among them. Even as all the citizens and guardians called forth their creatures, the sheer number difference was enough to ensure the opponent's victory. The battle was futile. Many fought, and all would fall.

A thick hail of poisoned arrows flew in from over head, and Seto, along with the twenty or so closest to him, could see no way out. The volley was too thick, and too wide. There was nowhere to run

And then they froze.

It was an odd phenomenon. One moment, the arrows had been flying through the air, and the next, they had been encased in ice that seemed to be unaffected by the sun beating down. They fell uselessly to the floor, and one by one they all looked up.

Above them were several winged entities. Seto recognised Azreal. They had wings. They were flying.

…Well, that explained why they did not remove their cloaks, and the feathers.

Next to Azreal was a blue creature, a Freezing Beast. The two descended neatly next to him. "…Did I do that?" She asked.

"He did that." Seto replied, pointing at the beast next to her.

"I summoned him…"

"Congratulations. You have wings."

"Aye. Why do you think everyone thinks we're evil? We're unnatural! Although I personally prefer the term 'Muses'."

"Indeed."

Around him, the other 'Muses' were landing with soft thunks. Some of them, to, had managed to summon themselves a monster; Kaho among them. Unfortunately, the appearance of a few of their sworn enemy just enraged the invading army more, and they ran into a blind charge. The Muses took back to the air.

The sides were balanced again. They may have numbers, but Egypt now had those with the ability to fly, and to shoot a bow whilst doing so. They also had the advantage of magical items and creatures. That little arrival, as the Muses had abandoned their horses and flown in to help, had tipped the scales ever so slightly back into Egypt's favour. Before too long, another battle had been won, and another chronicle of Egypt had been drawn to a victorious close. Well, what other kind of endings were there?

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Sure enough, everyone who had been given the Muses' medicines eventually recovered under their loving care. When Atem made a full recovery, he had, of course, had another feast. He definatly liked to party.

The Muses, however, had taken his survival as their cue to leave. And so, the morning after the feast, they were preparing to leave; loaded down with lavish gifts that would be enough to take them to the other side of the world, had they wanted to go that far. But all they wanted to do was go home. They knew that their city could remain safe now, to stand in the mountains for all time. However, Seto felt there was still one matter to be addressed.

"Tell me," He said calmly to Azreal. "Now that you are fluent, exactly what, about my name, is so amusing?"

She grinned. "Ah, that is not a word I have been taught." She sighed mockingly.

"…Then show me." Seto demanded. For some reason, Azreal's companions seemed to find this hilarious. "…Perhaps not?"

"No." Azreal agreed.

Which just goes to show that not all mysteries lost in time are ever found.

"Then I guess I'll never know." Seto sighed.

"You might," She replied, head on one side. "Just watch out for the back end of pigs."

They all laughed at him again. And, yet again, he didn't know why.

The muses rode away, and so did time, and eventually the great empire of Egypt fell. So did a small city in the mountains, as the Muses became more far flung, as their wings became weaker. There was peace, there was wars. There was creative periods, and there were depressions. Thousands of years fell through the hour glass, and cities cropped up all over the planet, and above it.

And on one of these cities, deserted bar three people, a girl was desperately searching for a survivor in the ghost town, and a boy was following after her; both completely oblivious to what had gone before.

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A/N: Thar. All done, at last. Now, to sleep… I apologise for the wait, but hopefully the length made up for it a little?


	28. The Life and Times

A/N: And, at last, it's done. I warn you now, this is a loooooooooooong one. I'm not going to be specific in exactly _how _long, though. It may well scare you. My apologies for not getting this done for yesterday- I did my level best, but, alas, it was not meant to be. To be honest, it's been a pretty crud week for my family, and at school, and it's literally been impossible to write at times. But hey, it's here now. Oh, by the way, the underlined words at the start are supposed to look like links... Heh...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, as if you hadn't figured that out from the previous Twenty-Five… Twenty-Seven disclaimers in this fic.

Well, Twenty-Five was a history lesson, and now, the bell rings, and we move onto... Biology! This is WyG 26, 'The Life and Times'!

Twenty-Six: The Life and Times 

**Posted By**: AngelAuthor

**At:**3:27 PM JST

**Subject:** If you want something done right…

See, here's the thing. Cast your minds back, waaaaaaaay back to last January, and that most… memorable 500th strip my 'friends' supplied. You might remember the post:

_"I'm pleased to tell you all that all my friends have agreed to join me permanently to help this comic along. I shall continue with the art work and story, but you will be seeing quite a bit of them, with, for the most part, the same as before. However, Wings will be helping Wikket with subtitles, as she's multilingual- but I fully intend to get her to do some Chibi t-shirt art for me, because I sure can't. Which, by the way, thanks to the help of Juilliard and Trojan Horse, we're finally getting a store! That's right! Slowly but surely, more and more AwBW products will be available! You asked for it, now you're getting it!"_

But, today, Wikket is leaving us, buzzing back off to England. Wings said she'd do the Subbing for you non-Japs who may be semi-able to read this post, or else are squinting at the screen hoping it will suddenly change and make sense; but, guess what? She's off on her 'Jolly Holidays' tomorrow, so a translated page won't be up until next week at the earliest. For the rest of you, there's a new page.

You just can't get the staff these days.

**Posted By: **Wings

**At: **17:09 PM JST

**Subject: **-Pout-

There's no need to be like that. I'll do the page as soon as I get home, from the holiday that I'm sure will be nice and relaxing without any running around or people yelling or stressing out over comics! Hmmph. You'd better take it back… Don't make me post those embarrassing photographs I just might happen to have…

I think the dog look rather suits you. :P

**Posted By: **AngelAuthor

**At: **17:21 PM JST

**Subject:** WTC!

Where did you get those! Wait… Let me guess. –Picks up killing Axe of DOOM- Excuse me. I have an appointment with a certain Die master…

-Cough-…He didn't give you the beauty pageant one, did he?

**Posted By: **Wings

**At: **17:25 PM JST

**Subject: **'Beauty Pageant?'

Huh…? Oh, wait, you MUST mean the _Cross-dressing_ one:D No, of course he didn't. –Innocent Eyes-

**Posted By: **AngelAuthor

**At: **17:30 PM JST

**Subject: **…

You'd better not come back from holiday, or I WILL hurt you. –Sigh- Thanks, Wings. Thanks so very much… Now… is there anyway to remove posts…?

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_So, what if, what if a-very-big _if_, Seto actually did _like_ the girl? And what if she actually liked him for _more_ then just the eye-candy? Azreal was a friend of his, and if she was happy with this guy, even if he was the biggest jerk in the world…_

_She had hung up, looking elated, but a little wary of him, more so when he opened his mouth to speak._

_"Fine." He sighed. "Maybe I _could_ lay off you a bit. But I still don't like the guy! And if he gives me the slightest reason, I won't hesitate to punch him, even if you _do_ like him! So you'd better warn him that if he wants to keep things as they are, he'd better be on his best behaviour! And-" He said, almost as an after thought. "If he does anything to upset you, he'll have me to answer to!"_

_"Thanks, Joey…" Azreal laughed, not mentioning the fact that the day Joey got one over on Seto would be the day when soup came ready sliced in a loaf._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The holiday had not exactly turned out as planned. Instead of just relaxing, they'd ended up travelling to a floating city that looked likely to crash, where the air was thin and full of a curious fog-like substance that Seto was still unsure of what it was, and now Azreal was running through roads and streets she seemed to instinctively know, looking for one, just one person who was still here, with a kind of desperation. Seto didn't know where everyone was, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know, wasn't sure if anyone was still alive, wasn't entirely sure of what was going on, and he didn't like it. Yet, it was all he could do to keep up with Azreal as they pounded through the ghost of a city.

She stopped dead. Seto looked as best as he could through the fog, and saw they had come to a small paved square. There were raised flowerbeds serving as walls to the square, full of flowers, that in their bright and vibrant colours seemed misplaced in this so far grey and white city. Inside the square were benches, and on one sat an old woman, who did not look well. It also appeared she had no legs below the knee. Azreal seemed to get her movement back, and ran over to her.

The old woman opened one eye slightly, then let it shut again, laughing. The sound seemed tinny and unnatural here. "Hello." She said.

"Hello…" Azreal replied, sounding upset. Then she swallowed, and spoke again. "Nana, what's-"

_Her grandmother... _Seto realised. _On her mother's side. But what's happened to her legs…? _Even as they stood, more and more of her legs were slowly fading away, nearly at her waist now.

"Ssh." She interrupted Azreal. "That was always your problem. Too many questions…"

Azreal bit her lip.

"I'm glad you're here." The woman said, holding out her hand. Azreal took it. "I wanted to say I'm sorry…I know we didn't know each other very well, I wanted to, I just didn't know how…"

"We can fix this." Azreal promised her. "We can fix it. All you have to do is use your wish feather and-"

The woman held up a feather in her other hand. In contrast to the ones on her back, white and proud, this was the deepest coal black imaginable. "Too late, I'm afraid." She muttered.

"But-" Azreal began. Again, the old woman held up a hand to stop her. It was an odd sight, as now her legs were completely gone and you could see the bench through her waist.

"Now, you listen to me." She commanded. "You must get out of here. Something's gone wrong with the pumps and the city is flooded with Nothing. Your mother got everyone out, but I told my operator I was going to meet her and stayed here instead."

"Why didn't you leave?" Azreal asked, desperately.

"I didn't want to. I couldn't bear the thought of if I couldn't come back." She laughed bitterly. "Because I'm a silly old woman. I didn't have long left anyway. At least now I got to choose where… You know, I met your grandfather on this very bench…"

Azreal fixed her gaze on the ground. What could she say…? What could she _do…_?

"You and your friend," her grandmother said, acknowledging Seto for the first time. "Need to leave here immediately." She lifted Azreal's head with a hand that was only partly solid and winked. "He is rather handsome. It'd be a terrible waste… It's not safe here. You need to get out of here _right now_." The hand faded away, and it began to work it's way up her nana's arm. "Not long left for me, but plenty left for you! Now, go!"

Azreal looked down again. All the Muses were safe, her mother had got them all out… The links to the city had only been cut off to stop the Nothing leaking down after them… Nobody would die. They'd just have to hide out on Earth until the city could be rebuilt… But that was no use. They needed home and business, and they needed food and water and shelter as much as they needed Creativity. The time on Earth would destroy all the system they had in place, all the order. And the Muse headquarters would go down. There would be no way of getting the creativity up to the other cities, no-one harvesting the creativity down on Earth… If it was a problem with the pumps or the filters, surely it could be fixed- if only someone could get close enough. So she couldn't go. She'd come too far.

"No." She replied, wanting to cry.

"Not even for your grandma's dying wish?"

Azreal shook her head, knowing she couldn't do what had been asked no matter what.

"Then good luck." The old woman said, just an eerie floating set of shoulders and above now. She began chuckling slightly. Out of all her granddaughters, Azreal was the most like Millierie, and she probably didn't even know it. "…You are your mother's daughter."

"And she's yours." Azreal chocked out. "Do you want me to…"

"Yes please."

As Seto watched in bewilderment, Azreal began to sing softly, the notes haunting and hypnotic, though the words were strange. As he watched, the old woman closed her eyes, smiling just a little. And as the song quietly continued her face got more and more transparent, wispy, until it could no longer be seen. The bench was empty except for a single black feather, lying still on the bench.

Azreal finished the line of the song, voice barely audible now, crying openly. But, to Seto's surprise, she did not stop, only after a second's hesitation continuing the melody. It, and her voice grew in strength, until it seemed no longer muffled by the strange fog and sadness in the air, but clear and cutting through it. Then she stopped.

"…We need to head down to the lower levels." She told Seto, shakily, turning away from him. He took hold of her shoulders, turning her around and looking straight down into her face.

"Not yet. Az, you need to tell me what's happening. _Exactly _what's happening." He commanded. "What's going on here?"

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_"I am not getting a cat." Ryou said adamantly, rubbing some small red lines on his right palm. She had always assumed that they, like all the other scars on his arms, were Bakura-induced, just not as bad as the others. But maybe…_

_"That was a cat?" She asked._

_"Yes." Ryou agreed. "It was a rash for weeks. Turns out I'm allergic…"_

_Anna laughed._

_"What?" He asked defensively._

_"Nothing." She shook her head, still giggling. Ryou, who had a evil spirit festering within him, who had survived the Shadow Realm and numerous comas, was allergic to pussy cats. Suddenly, something occurred to her, and she rolled the sleeve of her jacket up and twisted her arm round to show him a small red circle on her elbow._

_"Rabbit." She explained._

_"A _rabbit_?" Ryou echoed. "What? A cute little furry thing?"_

_"Hey, rabbits are vicious! And this one had it in for me…"_

_"Yes, I'm sure it was the don of the rabbit mafia."_

_"Well, I wouldn't put it past it…"_

_"It's a conspiracy…"_

_"I'm serious!"_

_"As am I. I think they're in cahoots with the cats."_

_"Yes! And dogs are the good guys!"_

_"Exactly. So I must get a dog to help with the course of justice and fairness and equality for all!"_

_They weren't half getting some strange looks for that conversation…_

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"What, exactly is happening! Get some work done!"

"Sorry, sir, we seem to be having problems sending our orders through to Wherever…"

"What?"

"Well, we radioed through for a porthole hours ago, but they haven't opened us one."

"Then send it down the chute!"

"That's the strange thing. They're all shut to."

This sounded interesting. Risking stopping on his way, he paused behind a large crate to listen. Something was up in Wherever…

"Hey!" Another voice, belonging to neither the boss nor the worker yelled from a distance away. "Guys, tune your radio into number Four!"

"Why in the Floating Cities would we want to do that?" Boss-man bellowed back. "The News is no good to work to! Besides, we have a situation here!"

"I know!" Radio-guy shouted. "It's talking about Wherever! You won't believe it…"

The music buzzed and gave way to radio snow as they fumbled to tune into the right station. And then, the news came on, and there it was.

"…Totally unimagined! The President has released a statement saying that while they _knew _about the threat of the Nothing, it was not sufficient to order an evacuation. Well, let me tell you, it looks sufficient enough from up here in the Radio 4 Whirlybird. The Nothing has actually physically swallowed the city, it's surrounded it from all angles, and it's surely only a matter of time before the lowest levels fall away…" A female reporter was saying, in a shocked tone, evidentially on-site, flying as close to the city as she dared.

"And just how many would have been killed in what has to be the biggest disaster since, well, since the Great Depression and the implementation of Joran's Theory?" The bloke in the studio asked.

He gave a bitter smile. Well, serve them all right…

"Well, we have no statistics for you yet I'm afraid, as any rescue attempts would be useless, but it has to be a great amount…" She sounded confused. "But there are unconfirmed rumours coming in that it could be… zero…"

"What!"

"I should repeat that these rumours are unconfirmed, but some are alleging that Millierie Kiyoko; needless to say the CEO of the Muses; _did _implement some kind of evacuation of her own."

"Is that even possible?"

"It would certainly be a feat unlike any we've seen in our known history. We're talking hundreds of thousands of people, and while she has liberties, we must remember that Miss Kiyoko does _not_ have the authority to order an evacuation. Again, I need to point out that these rumours _are _unconfirmed."

"To anyone worried about friends or family in the Capital, the Government are requesting that you do not panic, and we should soon have the number for a helpline very soon, and we'll give you new information as soon as we have it…"

The volume gradually faded away until the radio was clicked off. There were various oaths and prayers and exclamations of surprise muttered quietly under people's breath.

"Well, Bless Ms. Kiyoko!" The boss declared. "She may not be an Ethral like we are, but she's still amazing!"

"Those rumours were 'unconfirmed'." Someone else pointed out. "Plus, she 'doesn't have the authority', right?"

"When has that ever stopped her?" He laughed. "Face it, if anyone could pull this, it'd be her- and those triplets of hers! We'd better hope she pulled it, or it really will be a disaster…"

Seeing that the conversation no longer held any attention for him, he turned his attention away. He knew exactly what he was looking for. One thing to his credit was that he was clever, and the plan had already formed in his crafty mind. You see, with all this stuff happening to Wherever, it would probably be a very hard time for the Kiyoko girls, including the fourth one. She really didn't want anything else on her plate…

He needed to get down to Earth. And, just a few piers away, they were preparing to lower some mysterious crates down to the surface. No-one knew what was in those boxes- it was top secret. But once a month, they went down, regular as clockwork, to field operatives; NIPs who, although not official muses, worked down on the planet, shipping things back and forth. The shipment had never been missed, and it wasn't going to stop now, whether the capital had gone down or not. All he had to do was wait for just the right moment…

Now!

He sprinted along, hurtling between the gaps of the piers, the jumps exhilarating and so large that if he thought about it he wouldn't make it; and reached where the crates were being lowered into the Chute, and leapt after them. People had spotted him, but by now it was too late. The control of the boxes descent had been handed to the people at the other end, and they could not recall them now.

And so, roughly a year and a half after he was supposed to, Lira Klio finally made his way down to Earth.

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_Exactly an hour later, by some miracle, Azreal was in the café, sitting at a table with Kaho and just receiving a hot chocolate from the waiter. This was not an unusual sight. The Milk Bar was well known for doing the best milkshakes and hot chocolate in town, and there was never a day when it wasn't full of students. These two were not a rare sight, either. They would come in once every week or two, sit at the same table by the window, and talk quietly for an hour or so._

_"You seem very pensive." Kaho commented, as Azreal sipped her drink, and, apparently thinking it was too bitter, started to put some sugar in. Still, at least she didn't seem so frustrated anymore… "What's on your mind?" She asked._

_"It's just…" Azreal began, absently refilling the sugar spoon. "Something Téa said…"_

_"What?"_

_"She said she was beginning to think that I… loved Seto." Azreal said quietly, going red._

_"She said that to you?" Kaho blinked._

_"No, she said it Joey. I just overheard."_

_Kaho smiled. "Maybe that'll teach you to stop that nasty little habit of eavesdropping you seem to be developing." _

_Azreal groaned. "I know, but it made me wonder if I do… you know. And how can I tell if I do?"_

_"What difference does it honestly make?" Kaho replied easily. "For goodness sake, you're fifteen! You don't need to worry about this stuff! Just go with it and see how it turns out." _

_"… You're right." Azreal said, looking more thoughtful then ever. "You're right!" She repeated, more firmly._

_"Yes, and I think that's quite enough sugar now." Kaho commented, giggling._

_Azreal looked down at her drink in dismay. She had been absently dumping sugar in all this time, and now it was completely sodden; no more would dissolve. It would be far too sweet to drink now. Azreal pushed it away from her, laughing. "Oops."_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal wondered if they could keep moving and she could tell Seto on the way. But, looking at him, she knew it wouldn't be possible. He might have been able to ignore the difficulty he was having breathing, but she couldn't. He needed a rest. So she might as well talk to him here. She wasn't going to think about her Grandmother. She wasn't. Not now. Millierie's mother had always been uncomfortable around Azreal. She had _tried _her very best not to be, she really had, but things had always been awkward between them. Now they would never be anything else… She wasn't going to think about it. The song had brought her strength back, her focus, her determination. She was no mere muse. She was half-human. She could last in the Nothing longer then any other citizen of Wherever. She had to save it, because she was the only one who had the slightest glimmer of hope that she could.

Of course, she wasn't doing it alone.

"Az." He prompted, still trying to hide his breathlessness. Good old Seto… proud as always. "I've kinda figured out that this isn't ordinary fog. So what is it?"

"It's Nothing."

"Considering that it's just dissolved someone, I wouldn't call it nothing!" Seto exploded. Ah, so maybe he was getting ever so slightly stressed after all.

"No, it's _called _Nothing." Azreal explained. "How do I tell you all this…?" She sighed. "Okay, Seto, are you up for a quick biology lesson?"

"If it's relevant."

"Just bear with me, it is going somewhere…" Azreal replied. She'd need to keep this as brief as she could, they couldn't afford to waste a lot of time standing around in Nothing having a good old chin wag. Unfortunately, it was not really a subject you could rush. "Right, well… You may have noticed that we have a 'human' and a 'muse' form. Technically, that's not right- we don't become Humans, we just call it that because it's the form we're visible _to _humans."

Seto nodded. He'd thought it might be something like that… But he didn't see what this had to do with the Nothing around them.

"Now, we don't really know much about our ancient history." Azreal told him. "We know we lived on Earth, we know there was a war… but we don't really know anything else about where we came from or how we ended up with wings or any of that stuff. There are theories that we came about the same way you lot did, just under slightly different circumstances. We're really very similar, same basic organ pattern, same need for food and water and air… See, you live very much in your three dimensions-" She drew them in the air with her finger. "And, of course, you can sense time. Well, we're pretty much the same, except slightly shifted to the side."

"…What?" Seto really was confused.

"I just mean that, in general, we're much worse at keeping track of directions, judging distances, that kind of thing. But we're better with time. It's a little more… flexible. I can't explain it. It's just that there always seems to be a little more time then you need. Unless you're me and you're always late, but I divulge. Anyway, on top of that, we're sensitive to... Creativity, Nothing, stuff like that."

Seto frowned. "You mean it's another sense? Another dimension of existence?"

"Hmmph. You get this a lot quicker then I did back in school." Azreal pouted. "Yeah, that's what I mean. Some of you humans can do it to- except when they think they're seeing Ghosties and Ghoulies it's just us humble Muses. Now, we can sense Creativity, and this is where we really differ. See, for humans, it's just another process. You don't even notice, you're not sensitive to it. And you don't do it all the time. But when you think creatively, you release a kind of…substance thingy, somehow or another- that's what we _call_ Creativity. Now, _we're _sensitive to it, and we need it… It helps us get energy, somehow. I never did pass Science." She shrugged. "We breathe it in or compress it down and eat it solid. We need Creativity, but we don't need as much oxygen. Which is why I'm not having any trouble breathing up here. I think."

"I still don't see…" Seto gasped. "What all this has to do with the 'Nothing'."

"Well, you guys making Creativity is like any other process. You put something in, Thought and Effort; you get something useful out, Creativity; and you get a waste product- and this would be it." She gestured around them. "Now, usually, our pumps dragging all the Creativity out of the air has filters on them to get the Nothing out, but now… Still, at least it doesn't affect plants!"

Seto's head buzzed as he tried to comprehend all this. It all sounded perfectly scientific, but it still seemed a mystery to him how 'Thought and Effort' could trigger off a chemical reaction… But then, he couldn't sense it, so how _could _he know? Now he really was confused. "So, what exactly does this stuff do?"

"You saw what it does." Azreal said, quietly. She was in her Muse form. She knew the Nothing might be able to get to her quicker, but she wasn't Seto, not being able to breathe properly would annoy her no end. It was very odd, she could keep the form up, here in Wherever. She could feel the Creativity circulating the city, still mixed with the Nothing, so much more concentrated, replenishing her powers; but at the same time she could feel the Nothing wearing them away much faster… "It erodes. Too long with it, and you're gone. We haven't even been able to find out why or how- we can't safely do any experiments."

Seto glared at her. "Azreal. She's right. We need to leave. This stuff will kill us if we stay here too long."

"…Go." She replied. "You're right. You need to go."

"You to." He told her, firmly.

"No." She shook her head. "I'm… I'm going to stay here, and see if I can do something." She smiled nervously. "Hey, Humans aren't all that sensitive to it, right? I'm half-human. I can last a lot longer then other Muses. You'd have to stay up here days, unless you were dropped into a vat of the stuff, so I should be fine. Loads of time. The lack of oxygen is your main worry, especially when the Nothing in the air isn't exactly helping you get enough, but I don't even have that problem. So I'll be fine."

Seto glared at her, but it gradually slid away into an expression that wasn't one, that was void of emotion. "And I suppose you know how to fix filters?"

"…Not exactly." Azreal admitted. "But I'm going to try!"

Seto sighed. "You can hardly work a telephone. I'll come with you, or you'll never get anywhere."

"…Seto…"

"Shut up and lead the way." He answered. This was a challenge to him now. He had to fix this. Fix this, and save the darned city. Fix it before she died in the attempt. And so help him, he would. He _never_ failed a challenge. He'd never entered into one for unselfish reasons before either, but you couldn't have everything.

"Right." She nodded, and turned to leave the small square, but first she picked up the black feather sitting on the bench. "See? Now we can't fail. We have a wish." She smiled, but it was false, looking more of a grimace of nerves and sadness.

"…A _what_?"

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Yugi had received a variety of interesting presents, from a watch to a CD he had been looking at last time they went shopping to a huge pack of sweets (Not that he needed anymore after that cake) to a pair of socks that played music when he walked in them, (A/N: Who was that! Honestly…) to something that they couldn't quite figure out what it was, but in ten years time would be discovered to be a lamp, and now, there was only one left, this one from Anna._

_Yugi had deliberately left it to last, because, in all honesty, he was a little nervous of opening it. Anna was famous for her slightly twisted sense of humour, so he didn't want to think about it. However, the package in the brightly coloured birthday paper seemed conservative enough, just a simple rectangle. Yugi took it and peeled back the wrapping cautiously, smiling in delight as he saw what was inside._

_It was a deck, the new fire-themed structure deck. Some of these cards would make excellent additions to his deck, and best of all, the present had been nothing to be worried about after all- a deck of cards was just about the safest thing you could get for a Duellist._

_"Open them…" Anna prompted, Yugi not spotting her slightly devilish grin. "Take a look at what's inside…"_

_"Okay…" Yugi nodded, flipping the box open. To his surprise, the opening flap just ripped away in his hand. "Oh no…" He gasped, looking up at Anna. "I'm sorry…"_

_"Don't apologise to me, it's yours." She shrugged. "Besides, it's just the box! Just make sure you take more care with the cards, hey?" She smiled to assure him that she was joking._

_Yugi pulled the top card from the deck, it just so happening to be The Twin Headed Fire Dragon. As he admired it, he noticed that the card was unusually shiny. He frowned. He wasn't aware that the Dragon came in ultra rare… He rubbed it slightly, and was even more despaired when this caused the card to rip. "Gah!" He yelled, trying to smooth it back in place._

_It was then that he noticed his friends were all laughing at him, and he relaxed a little, examining the damaged 'card'. In actual fact, the thing that had ripped had just been foil- foil designed to look like a card, wrapped around a large, but thin, chocolate, the Dragon etched oh-so-lightly into it. He grabbed the 'box', quickly finding that it to was made from Sugar paper- no wonder it had been so easy to rip…_

_Anna had brought him a 40 card, fire themed, fully-edible deck._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

When Lira had been fired from his job last April, he had caused scandal. He was exiled to Earth, and one or two of the bolder two-faced people said maybe Azreal wasn't that bad after all- you know, now that she was dead, and had been right about him. In that order. At any rate, while the general population of the Musing Community thought that Azreal Kiyoko had died in hospital and Lira had been banished to Earth, in reality, Azreal had been banished to Earth and it was Lira who did not go. He was the only one outside of the family who knew that Azreal was not dead, who knew that the publicists had been adamant that her case was covered up, that death looked better then exile; and they knew that he would use that to his advantage. Of course, as far as the Judges and court and Millierie knew, his sentence had been enforced and he was stranded down on Earth. It was one of the people in the government that had swung him a job, disappearing into the Somewhere docks, knowing that he would find a way to tell the people how the government had lied to them about Azreal's supposed death if he had no incentive to keep quiet.

And so, for over a year now, though he had lost track of the days and weeks, Lira had been working down in the Somewhere docks, shipping things back and forth between Earth and the Musing Cities. He was no longer scared of the law, so occasionally things would go missing, or a lot more bootlegging happened, but nothing could be done about it. Still, Lira was not content with just this. He was supposed to be riding the gravy chain, not doing manual labour, constantly hiding away. He couldn't have that lifestyle now. But he could certainly have revenge.

He had a list. He had had over a year to work on it, after all. Locked away in the madman's brain was all those he felt he had to avenge himself on. Top of the list was a certain dirty half-human. But he'd deal with her last. That way, she'd suffer with her family and friends, knowing it was her fault. He'd deal with the other Kiyokos before her- They all seemed to come as a set, so they could all suffer together. And then there was Seto Kaiba. He would be first. He meant the most to Azreal, he had been the most annoying, he was the one who had told Azreal that the case had been completed before she was replaced, he was the one who made her happy… It all came back to him. If he hadn't told them that the comic had been back on track _before _Lira got there, they wouldn't have been taking a closer look at all his case notes. He wouldn't have been fired. It was all Kaiba's fault.

So Lira would get him back. Then he'd get the family. Then…with lack of anyone else, he'd get her. Yeah.

Now he had come to be sitting on top of a pile of crates going down to the planet's surface. He could hardly wait to get there. Azreal would already be stressed out over her precious home town. She wouldn't want to deal with him. He didn't really have a plan. But he'd get one. It didn't matter how long it took him to implement, he'd see it through to the end. As long as he got them all, in that order, he didn't care if it took him the rest of his life. He'd do it, or die trying.

The crates juddered to a stop. He was down on the planet's surface.

At last. Time to Lock and Load. Time to ready his body and mind for his sole focus now- getting Seto Kaiba.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"_Well, that's the lot!" Téa said cheerfully, slamming the machine door shut. "What do you want to do now?"_

_Azreal shrugged. "Hey, it's _your_ birthday. You get the right to choose."_

_"Then why don't we watch another movie?" Téa suggested, picking up the box set from the counter and looking at the remaining films inside it. "How about _Shirley Valentine_? I haven't seen that one before…"_

_"Really?" Azreal asked, following her into the front room. "I love it. You'll like it. It's really cute and funny."_

_"Yeah, I heard that." Téa replied, taking the DVD out of it's box and setting up the player._

_"I met one of the actors, once." Azreal commented. "Another one I had to inspire directly…"_

_"Oh," Téa said in some surprise. "Wasn't this film made in the early '90s, though? I would've thought they'd all be too old by the time you were inspiring to need a muse."_

_"Well, you'll see in a bit," Azreal explained "But one of the couples had a baby in the film. He was the baby. Of course, by the time I met him, he'd just finished drama school and was making a film about a teenage spy. But he couldn't do it. Despite all that training, he couldn't make the character feel real."_

_"But I bet you inspired him and got lots of creativity and made him a big star, though!" Téa grinned. Azreal laughed, embarrassed._

_"Not exactly. It was my first big case… and my first big screw up. I was one of the extras on set, you see, and it never seemed like his heart was in it. That was the first time I saw Forrest Gump, you know- I made friends with him, and he made me watch it, and then he said… 'Life is like a box of chocolates… empty, and full of other people's wrappers.'."_

_"That's so sad…" Téa replied, looking concerned. "What did you do?"_

_"Well, by this point, I kinda figured it was his mom that wanted to him to be an actor." Azreal shrugged. "I mean, _she'd_ made him act even when he was only a year or two old, and _she_ sent to Stage school. I kinda guessed that maybe he was only acting because he didn't know what else to do. So I…" She turned away, slightly embarrassed. "I told him he shouldn't act if he didn't want to, and that he should go where his heart took him. The next morning, he quit, and… well, the last I heard, he had gone to college, and was studying to be a doctor."_

_"Sounds like you really helped him out- you made him realise he didn't have to act if he didn't want to ." Téa blinked. "Why are you embarrassed?"_

_"'Helping people out' comes second." Azreal laughed. "They were sympathetic to my reasoning, of course, but because of me the film was stopped, we lost another actor, and a good potential for Creativity. And Muses need Creativity more then they need a clear conscious, that's the reality of it."_

_"Well, _I_ think you did the right thing." Téa said stubbornly as the film began._

_"Thanks, Téa."_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"A wish." Azreal repeated, her feet knowing the familiar streets even when her eyes could not see through the deadly fog. She hated to see it like this… It had always been so busy, bustling and bright, full of life… Now it just seemed dead. The Lifts between levels certainly would be, so she took him to find the stairs. They had a lot of climbing to do. And she knew that the lower they got, the stronger, the more concentrated, the Nothing would be… She swallowed hard. It didn't matter any more. Seto would get out okay. And she… well, she didn't have long anyway. She might as well go out with a bang. "From the feather."

"A wish?" Seto echoed.

"Yeah. You know. Magic."

Seto looked surprised at that. "You've explained all this with Science." He said, trailing his fingers through the fog. It made them tingle in the same way as when Az touched him in her muse form, hot and cold at once. "And you make your cities float with Science, I suppose. So why on Earth… and above it… do you go back to magic now?"

"Isn't everything magic until we can explain why it happens?" Azreal replied, shortly. "Magic is just Science we haven't figured out yet."

"You have _wish-granting feathers_ and you haven't figured out how they work?"

"Hey, we don't have record of anything before we came up here- and that was in the Dark Ages or something. Give us chance- we were too busy figuring out how to _keep _the city floating and how to copy the technology for other cities and working out what to do if there was a fault … No-one expected this, though…" She sighed.

"But…" Seto frowned. "Someone must have built this place to begin with. Are you suggesting that someone in the Dark Ages knew how to do this? That's impossible!"

"We're working on that to." She told him. "But hey, till then- A wizard did it."

"You cannot be serious…"

"Uh-huh. _Had _to be a wizard. I'm sure of it."

Seto rolled his eyes, but he didn't really mind. By now he had worked out for himself that acting like nothing wrong, still using her unique brand of not-quite-funny humour, was just her way of dealing with things, in much the same way that he acted so-

…It was her way of dealing with things.

"Right. Well, tell me what you know about these Wish feathers anyway." He replied.

"Why so interested?" She answered, looking at him quizzically as she lead him through street after street, presumably towards some sort of staircase or lift down to the lower levels. Her mouth smiled just a little, but her eyes could not even manage that. They were sad. But there was something more in there to, something that made him uncomfortable. There was a determination, not a fiery, desperate, angry one. A cold, harsh one that suggested nothing, not one thing, would stop her. He hadn't seen that cold look before, at least not in her eyes. He'd seen it all too many times in the mirror, however. And that's why it scared him when she shared it.

"Just curious." He shrugged, not letting his thoughts show on his face, something he had also done many times before.

"Well… We figure it's some kind of energy store that builds up over your life…" She began slowly, still walking at a brisk pace through the ghostly street, her wings looking more solid then he'd ever seen them before. "I have one to. See?"

"Where?"

"Right wing… kinda towards the middle. It's much brighter then the others." She slowed her pace a little, and he squinted at her back, looking carefully at the off-white, slightly greying feathers. He knew they had never been pure white, but he didn't remember them being as dingy as this… He pushed the thought from his mind as he finally spotted a speck of white, under a cluster of other feathers. Gently, he lifted them up as best he could to see properly; and then he could see what she meant. There, amongst the tattered feathers was a proud one, resplendently white in colour, better shaped, and larger somehow. He tentatively reached out to touch it.

"Wait." Azreal commanded stonily, craning over her shoulder to see what he was doing as best she could. "I should warn you- it's not a normal feather. It pulses."

"Pulses?" He asked, more intrigued then ever. He pressed his fingers against it, and indeed it was, just as you would find on your wrist or neck- which suggested that this feather actually had blood passing through it; that it was more then just grown from the wing… "Amazing…" He muttered.

He felt Azreal shudder and snatched his hand away. She turned to face him, smiling a false smile again.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, unsure how he could have.

"Not really." She replied. "It's just sensitive, like if someone pinched you. That's all."

"I'm sorry."

"I said it didn't matter!"

Her lip was bleeding a little from where she'd been biting it, suggesting she'd been lying, but he didn't push the issue as she picked up the walk again without another word.

Something was bothering Seto still, and then he finally pinned down on what it was. "Wait. Why is yours white, but that one-" He gestured at the feather she was carefully carrying with her. "Is black?"

"It turns black when you're going to die." She informed him monotonously. "It means it's going to detach itself. It means you're dead and gone. I said it was an energy store, right? Well, it gets loose when you're in serious danger. You can pull it out and use it to do almost anything- your heart's deepest desire. We don't know how. Of course, when death is imminent most people use it to prolong their lives a little. And when people… don't use it, it goes black. Can't keep the colour without a blood supply, I guess. So now there's all this energy locked away in this thing that could grant your heart's desire." She waved her grandmother's now black feather at him. "Not that it could bring her back. Nothing can do that."

"Az…"

"And we can't use it either." She said, loudly, before he could say anything. "Well, we could, but it would be incredibly disrespectful. In our society, you can be jailed for it. Completely disgusting. Just totally, utterly, morally wrong!" She was yelling, apparently frustrated at this, and that she could never bring herself to do such a thing. Seto didn't really understand what was wrong with it, but it really just bought home how different their cultures really were. He listened carefully, and a sound something akin to a sob escaped her. He couldn't do this any longer.

"Stop." He commanded steadily. She did, and turned to face him, although she didn't look up at him.

"We have to keep moving." She said, harshly.

"It's alright to be upset." He stated. Then she did look up at him, looking unsure what to feel.

"Upset?" She demanded. "My grandmother just died in front of me. My people are stuck, separated, in a strange place, and my city is being dissolved! I know it's alright to be upset! Way beyond upset!" Tears were streaming down her face now, and she went to wipe them away, but Seto got there first, gently getting rid of them with the back of his fingers in the same way he'd done for Mokuba when the boy was little more then a toddler. Az took a step back, and gave her eyes a wipe for herself. The cold determination had reasserted itself in her eyes, stronger now, all traces of sadness gone. "But right now, I don't have _time _to be upset. We have to do this now!"

Seto placed a hand on her shoulder as best he could with her wings there. "There will be time to grieve." He promised.

"Pity there never was for you." She answered harshly, turning abruptly around a corner. "This way. We need the staircase at thirty-five degrees past North."

"Why that one?"

"We're taking a little detour." She replied, not pausing her pace for even another second.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"It's my birthday in a few days time, on the fourth." Yugi explained. "All these guys are coming over to celebrate, and I wondered if you'd like to join us."_

_"Really?" She blinked. "Even after the… disaster at Tristan's?"_

_"Of course!" Yugi said, blinking in surprise._

_"We've said before, that wasn't your fault." Tristan said graciously. "Forget about it."_

_"We'll just have to remember that you can't drink coke." Yugi assured her. "It's probably not a good idea if you disappear in front of Grandpa. We might be able to convince Tristan's family that it was their imagination, but not him…"_

_Anna winced at the memory. "Don't remind me…" She had finally discovered why Coca Cola was not available in Wherever. Unlike humans, it didn't make you hyper. No, it made you de-materialise. _

_"No Coke for me." She agreed. "But, yes, I'll be there. Wouldn't miss it for the world…"_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

He hadn't been at home. Lira had gone through all that trouble to go to the house and pummel him, and the Kaiba jerk hadn't even been home. How inconsiderate.

Still, he was not fazed. He knew that Kaiba was pathetically devoted, through a total lack of a spine, to Azreal. She was fool enough that, when she felt Wherever being cut off, she would have rushed at the chance to do something about it, wheatear the city was supposed to be completely cut off or not. He could sense an opening somewhere in this damned city, so evidently some equally idiotic friends of hers were helping. That's where he'd find them.

Lira slinked through the town, out of the posh district where the Kaiba lorded it over everyone else, to the average district where Azreal lived with her so called 'family', to a rough area of town where no-one would live by choice. As he passed in front of two of many of the tower blocks, he could see through the gap a hill, and perched on top was a warehouse, glaring down at the rest of the area. For a second, he thought that was where the entrance was, he could feel it so strongly. But it wasn't. This had a different feel to it, one he liked… It seemed to be brooding, waiting to strike… He could now distinguish it from the Church down a little way on the opposite side of the street, but he did not go to it just yet. Something about this place called to him…

And then someone physically did.

"You there!"

Lira jumped, startled- no-one should be able to see him!

"Yeah, you." He turned to see a weedy little man wearing excessive amounts of gold jewellery. "I can see you well enough."

"How?" Lira demanded.

"Practise." He sneered. "I've always been able to see you people. Could I be of _service_ to you?"

Lira folded his arms across his chest, trying to look more intimidating. "I _was _looking for Seto Kaiba. But I think I've found him." He jerked a finger in the general direction of the Church. "So, if you'll excuse me…"

"Inspiring him, I suppose?" The man asked, not sounding too happy about it.

"No." Lira replied, sick of questions. "I intend to kill him. Or worse."

"Worse then death?"

"Living with nothing is worse then dying with everything." Lira answered. His mental stability was not all there, otherwise he would not be saying this to a random passer-by. But losing everything can do that to a person. "I know that first hand."

The man grinned. He could see that Lira was on the edge of insanity, he was there himself in fact, but he was patient. "You'll have to get in line." He smirked. "I want his suffering to my name to."

"Oh?" Lira's eyes narrowed. "And what's he done to you?"

"That's really none of your concern." The man smiled nastily. "However, I have a plan that I suspect is better then any you _might _have, and I really can't allow you to screw it up. Unless of course you'd care to join me, I need help…"

"I'm listening." Lira answered cautiously.

"You'd need patience." The man warned him. "This may take years to implement."

Now it was Lira's turn to smile icily. "I've already waited a long time, but if it's all the better when it comes, I would wait for a century. What's your plan?"

"I'm not telling you until your participation is secured." He told him steadily.

Lira's grin widened. He liked this guy's way of thinking. Why not? If it was a dud, Lira had the advantage of being invisible to ninety percent of the human race. He could get away easily enough.

"Fine. I'll come and help you."

"Excellent." The man held out his hand. "I'm Jack Selbek."

"Lira Klio." They shook.

Jack Selbek grinned. Lira Klio seemed to have assumed they'd be partners. It was not so. Lira Klio now belonged to Jack Selbek.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Finally shaking them off, (Though no paper, book, photo or inanimate object went unsigned, or any girl unsweetened) Duke entered the corridor that was serving as the exit and entrance for the stage, still buoyed up on his assured success. Not looking where he was going, he banged into a girl, hurrying the other way with sheets of paper. Duke began to help her gather them up, so he didn't look at her._

_"Oh, sorry!" She said. "You were good, by the way. I could hear part of it back here…"_

_That voice was worryingly familiar, but he couldn't place it… _

_"Thanks." He smiled, quickly scribbling his name on the paper and handing it back to her._

_"Uh, thanks," She said, bemused. "But I think that you just signed Ryou's guitar tabs."_

_That voice really was… He looked up, and saw the bespectacled face. He remembered it. He remembered the voice. But who…?_

_"Azreal!" He yelped, suddenly. "Wha- what are you doing here!"_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal didn't seem to be a particularly talkative mood as she strode purposefully on, presumably to her staircase thirty-five degrees past North, so Seto didn't push it. Instead, he, still ignoring his breathlessness as best he could, peered through the fog. Amazingly, he recognised most of the buildings on this street- perhaps their cultures weren't so different after all. It seemed to be a street entirely devoted to Religion. As they walked along, he saw everything from Shinto shrines to Mosques, all on the same road. This struck him as strange, and he said so.

"Seems a good way of arranging it to me." Azreal shrugged, not sounding overly interested. "This way you know where to find them all, whatever faith you follow- we have everything on this street. Shintoism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Christianism, Jewism, Muslimism…"

Seto decided not to comment on this. Somehow he didn't think it was worth the bother. "Wait a minute. It said in the lift that this was the Muse offices. So far, it doesn't look much like it."

"Of course it is." Azreal answered. "This is where all the Inspirational people live and work, so there has to be facilities for them."

Azreal's 'detour' seemed to involve, rather then heading straight through the streets to the edge of the level where the stairs would be, tacking along it lengthways to get to the particular staircase. Admittedly, Seto was not too happy about this arrangement, as they were walking close to the edge; and the sight was more then dizzying. He was almost glad that the Nothing was there, making the air impossible to see through. At the moment he could only see a little way down, which was bad enough. On a clear day, he was certain, it'd be like standing on the wings of a plane. Apparently muses didn't suffer from vertigo.

"Here." Azreal grunted, as they reached a staircase and she began to descend. She'd slowed her pace slightly as they'd walked, but now she seemed anxious to move on again, desperate to get where she was going, or desperate to get away from this place. She ran down the stairs at a speed that made Seto worry she was going to go headlong. Only one thing slowed her, and that was the staircase itself. Or rather, the wall around it.

His first impression of the wall was relief. Almost like a railing, it was raised at waist-height, and so reassured him that neither of them would be falling down any time soon. It was unusual, though- at the bottom, it was just normal grey bricks. But, above them, standing vertically, was slab after slab of a very different kind.

They looked to Seto almost like some sort of hard wax, a kind of pale, mottled yellow-brown colour; with a consistency that looked to him almost like those clotted cream fudges Mokuba loved. Apart from this, each one was unique. The similarity many shared was the black feathers pressed into them, but not all of them had this. They all had a name on them, and writing, but the curious thing was that they all seemed to be in different languages. The only thing that every single one had was a tiny little metal bowl affixed to the bottom of them; no more then a finger's breadth or depth, and filled with water. It was these little dishes that were slowing Azreal down.

It was bizarre to watch. As she passed each one, she would press her first two fingers to her forehead, dip the tips in the water, and then spread it onto the wax panels. This was all done at speed, barely glancing at what she was doing, as she hurried on, mumbling something in a language he didn't understand.

She went down and down, continuing this little ritual, her strange speech becoming more haggard as the speed they went at began to take it's toll; and then, all at once, she stopped dead. Seto couldn't have said how far down they'd gone, he'd long since lost count of the steps, or how long they'd been descending, nor could he tell you how much further they had to go. But, seemingly no reason, Azreal had stopped, and she suddenly knelt down on the step, facing the wall. Before her was a panel just the same as all the others they'd passed, but this one was blank.

"Az…?" Seto began slowly, his voice almost being completely swallowed by their surroundings. She was knelt in front of the blank panel, but didn't look like she was about to make any actions, instead looking at the black feather with an odd look on her face. Normally her face was an open book to her emotions, but now it was as incomprehensible to him as the strange words she'd been muttering as they'd climbed endlessly down. Before them, the steps stretched out even further, as though they would spiral on forever.

"I just wish that we could…" She began, still looking at the feather, but she did not finish the sentence, starting a new one instead. "…I can't do it properly, but it's better then nothing…" She said plenty of other things to, but Seto didn't understand any of them. As he watched, she dipped her fingertips into the small bowl at the bottom of the panel, and rubbed the water over the blank space. She also rubbed some carefully over the black feather that was all that remained of her mother's mother. This feather was then pressed firmly against the waxy-like substance before her. To Seto's surprise, it gave, and the feather sank into it, sticking there even as she removed her hand. After rubbing some more water over it, she sat back on her heels, singing the start of that strange song again, the tune very different this time, crying even as she did. She didn't move after that. Seto took this to be a sign that she was finished with whatever she was doing, and sat down next to her.

"This is a graveyard, isn't it?" He asked, quietly. She nodded, and he pulled her close to him.

"I couldn't even put a name on the tablet!" She wept. "But if I didn't, the feather would have been dissolved to! What else could I do, Seto? What else could I have done?"

"Nothing." Seto told her. "Nothing. Now, then…" He stood up again. "We need to keep moving, Az."

"I know…" Azreal sighed, and she stood, once again following the tradition of pressing her fingers to her forehead, into the water, and then onto the panel. After that, she continued to walk slowly down the stairs, before realising after a few steps that Seto was no longer by her side.

Azreal turned to see him smoothing water onto her grandmother's panel with the tips of his fingers, the bandage around his hand even now. That place where they'd sat around a campfire so care-free now seemed a world away, and, as below them the Earth carried on oblivious of what was happening above them, in a way it was. It seemed Seto had cottoned onto their customs and was now following out of respect, although he was giving the panel a look that she couldn't for the life of her figure out what he was thinking.

They were quite some distance down the steps before either of them spoke again.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Mokuba turned quickly at a sound on the stairs behind him, and found himself looking directly into deep, blue-green eyes a few steps below. Realising that this time Mokuba was looking at her, not through her, Azreal stopped her ascent and stood, mind whirling._

_She must have accidentally materialised without noticing again. And in front of Mokuba! It had been happening more and more often of late, she couldn't keep it up for long, if she didn't get back soon, she'd have to… _Oh shift, _she thought_ shift shift shift! Oh, CTRL ALT DELETE! This can't be happening! Not now! Not when I was finally… If mom hadn't…If I hadn't…

_"Who're you?" Mokuba demanded suspiciously. Although, it wasn't as harsh as it could have been. He just couldn't take a teenage girl standing on his stairs hyperventilating as a serious threat. "Hey…Are you alright?"_

_"Fine!" Azreal replied shrilly, getting hold of herself "You just made me jump." She regained composture and went up the last couple of steps to join him by Seto's door. "Isn't he awake yet…? Strange." Her sleep spell must have been more powerful then usual. _Maybe that's why I couldn't control when I materialised this morning…_ Her optimistic side thought. _Liar,_ the pessimist side replied _that's not true and you know it.

_"Look, just _who_ are you?" Mokuba asked again. Azreal realised she'd need a cover story._

_"Oh, excuse me." She replied. "My name is Az- Anna Mitsan, I work with your brother." She couldn't help but smiling a little sadly to herself. Anna Mitsan. Now there's a name she hadn't expected to use again. _

_Mokuba looked 'Anna' up and down. She certainly did not look the part, with scruffy, long brown hair tied back with a hairband that seemed to know it was fighting a loosing battle, jeans that were wearing into huge holes at the knees, and a very loud multi-coloured, slightly misshapen jumper. She was short, very short, standing perhaps a head taller then Mokuba. Thick glasses perched on her nose, but not very well, because every few seconds she had to push them back up. Behind those glasses were those amazing eyes Mokuba had seen earlier. They were a deep, dark, blue but it looked like someone had got a paintbrush and flicked a splatter of emerald green over the top. They met his eyes without a flinch or annoyance, and stared back at him with hawk like intensity, but he could see a definite sparkle there, a love of life, a need for fun… He blinked and dragged his gaze away, resisting the urge to shake his head to clear it. There was something weird about this girl, besides the way she dressed. She couldn't have been more then fifteen, so all in all, she did not look like someone Seto would work with. Mokuba wondered vaguely how long it would take security to get her if he called them now and also how this girl had got into the house in the first place. Not that they weren't used to girls trying to get in, Seto was very popular, but few actually got this far…_

_Azreal reeled a little to as Mokuba broke free. Not even her hypnosis would work for her anymore. Only to be used in the direst of circumstances of course, (Not that she hadn't broken practically every rule already) but it was the one aspect of musing she actually excelled at. The one thing the papers fawning after her mother hadn't been able to pick apart when discussing her shortcomings. And now even that had betrayed her. Azreal rubbed her forehead worriedly. Maybe she really was getting sick. Or maybe her sub-conscious was trying to tell her something... Azreal pushed these thoughts back to their customary place at the back of her mind, the excuse being that she needed to deal with the most immediate problem first. _

_"What? Don't say he hasn't told you about me." Azreal said, quirking a brow at Mokuba's disbelieving expression. "Well, that's his choice, I guess. Listen, when he wakes up, tell him I called round and that I'll be back later. There's something… something I just have to do." _Even though, _she added mentally,_ given the circumstances, it's an even worse idea than usual.

_"Wait a minute." Mokuba said suspiciously "I'm not buying this. Who are you and what do you want?"_

_"I already said, silly." Azreal laughed nervously. She went to rub her elbow- an instinctive movement when she was nervous- and noticed her hand had a mind of it's own again and was dematerialising._

Oh Crud.

_Azreal shoved the hand hastily into her pocket. "Well, it's been real, Mokuba, but I really have to go now…!"_

_Azreal ran off down stairs at a speed Mokuba would have been punished for, and rounded the corner in them. Mokuba followed only slightly more sedately, but as he turned there was no sign of the mysterious girl. Even an hour later, after a through search of the mansion, he saw nor hide nor hair of her. Mokuba shrugged as he entered the kitchen. It was obvious this girl was not a business partner._

Oh well_ Mokuba thought, pouring some cereal._ I guess it's better that Seto has a secret girlfriend then that he argues with himself in his room.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

All the panels stretching out before them now were blank, and not in use, so they were no longer slowed by the water-type ritual. However, they were still moving steadily downwards, admittedly at a slower pace- some of the desperation seemed to have drained out of her. Seto had to confess part of him was relieved; the further down they went, the thicker the Nothing got until they could hardly see in front of them, and had he had to run he probably would have suffocated. As it was, he took the opportunity to ask Azreal about everything he'd seen and heard since arriving on the stairs. He didn't care an awful lot for being so out of the loop in this way.

"As you said, it's a graveyard." She told him. "There's really not much else to say. When we die, our bodies are either absorbed by Nothing or tossed into it, only the Wish Feather is kept- if it wasn't used, of course."

"It strikes me as strange that you will take your dead to the very thing you fear the most." Seto commented.

"No, no…" Azreal shook her head. It was not the most pleasant of conversations, for sure, but she was glad of it. Anything to take her mind away from the task at hand. "You've got to understand, according to… well, our superstitions, if you like, we're of air and of water. By giving any bodies over to the Nothing, our spirits are released back into the air. That's why we have the water here. It helps us honour the memories of the… deceased."

Seto snorted. "Right."

She looked at him, smirking slightly. "Well, if you think about it… If we're Air and Water, then _you're _Earth and Fire. And what do _you_ do with bodies? Bury them or burn them."

"And what do you consider yourself?" Seto asked quietly. "What does that make _you_?"

The question caught her off-guard, and Azreal didn't answer for a long time. When she did, it was on a topic unrelated to the question, as she continued to explain their customs to him.

"Y'know what these panels are made of?" She questioned. "That's Creativity, that is. I told you we could compress it down and eat it- well, that's what it's sealed in."

"It doesn't look too appetising." Seto admitted, wrinkling his nose.

"Oh, it's _gorgeous…_" Azreal said dreamily. "It's sweet, but kind of wooden… um… Well, have you ever eaten Cinnamon bark? With a bit of the sap on it, and like it's been stored between a fish and some oranges?"

"…No?" Seto couldn't help but laugh. "It still sounds disgusting to me…"

"Oh." She shrugged. After a pause, she added: "Maybe it's an acquired taste."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"We-ell…" Well began awkwardly. He was fairly sure when people talked about Evangelising, this wasn't exactly what they had in mind… He was saved from answering by the fire escape at the back of the room bursting open._

_"Well! Guys!" Anna yelled, entering. Wasn't she supposed to be on holiday…? "I really need your…help…" She trailed off, seeing the room was full of Muses, who weren't too pleased to see her._

_"Isn't that the Kiyoko girl…?"_

_"I thought she died in hospital!"_

_"That was just her mother covering up for her! I told you she'd been exiled!"_

_Azreal paled. If they knew she was here, it was only a matter of seconds before…_

_"I bet she was the one who set the Nothing on Wherever!"_

_"To get revenge!"_

_"I knew she was twisted!"_

_Azreal decided to try, even though she knew there was no point. "Oh, come on. How am I supposed to control Nothing?"_

_There was a slight pause._

_"She's a witch!" An old Muse cried._

_"I always knew she was!"_

_"I said there was some'in strange about her…"_

_"It's because she's half human!"_

_"She's a Witch!" The same old, hysterical Muse cried. "Now that's she scattered us all, she'll pick us off one by one!"_

_Azreal rolled her eyes. People just got worse and worse as they got older…_

_"Anna…?" Well began uncertainly._

_"Well, I-" Azreal started, interrupted by a cry of 'Get her! Now! While she's distracted!'. "Oh, crud…"_

_She bolted through the door, pushing through the room and out into the corridor. The Muses quickly gave chase. No way could she stand up to this lot!_

_"This is a House of God!" She tried, still running. In the Church proper, the Evening Service continued unknowingly. "House of God House of God House of God House of God _House of God_!"_

_But they paid her no heed as they backed her into a corner._

_"Stop!" Well commanded. "Or, well, I'll have you all chucked out by your, well, ears!"_

_They all stopped, considering._

_"I will!" He insisted._

_"Well, just make sure she doesn't get away…" The old one grumbled as Well's friends herded them all into the room they'd come from._

_"Well…" Well began. "What's this favour you're asking?"_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The Staircase reached yet another little landing, leading out onto one of the levels, and once more Azreal passed it. They'd begun on Level Eight, and they had only just hit Level Five. They needed to go down deeper then even she ever had before, down past Level Four, and Three, and Two; all the way down to Level One. She had no idea what was going to be there when they reached it, or what she'd do, but that was where they were headed. Hopefully they'd know what to do when they got there. One thing she knew was that she would not be leaving it again. She could feel the Nothing leeching through her even now. It wouldn't be long. She had to hurry.

She still hadn't answered Seto's question. Did she think of herself more Muse or Human? She'd never really considered it before…She had settled into Earth well enough, but she had been born and raised _here_, had spent most of her life training or working as a muse…

"Is this it?" Seto asked suddenly, knocking her brutally away from her thoughts, although in all honesty she was grateful for the interruption. It took her away from thoughts she didn't want to think.

Before them, she could see the staircase was finally coming to an end. There was only a few more steps to go, a few more panels, and then it went level, turning into Level Four.

"If you mean 'are we where we need to be?', no." Azreal replied. "If you mean 'Is this the end of the staircase?', then yes."

"How much further?" Seto wondered as they began to descend the final stretch.

"This is Level Four." She told him, monotonously. "About as close to the Nothing as everyday people would go. Levels One to Three have been immersed for quite some time." They reached the platform, and she paused for a second, rubbing her hand gently over the last of the blank panels. "Those who _do _venture down tend to end up here on the wall." She muttered quietly. "And I may soon be joining them."

She hadn't intended Seto to hear the last part, but he had. His reaction was predictable enough.

"No you won't." He said fiercely, in a tone that he usually reserved for argumentative employees. "As long as we hurry and fix this thing, you'll be fine. We'll go back down and… and we'll go and make s'mores on the lakeside."

Azreal wanted to laugh, but the sound that came out of her seemed to be more akin to a sob. She knew, and had known for quite sometime, that she would die. She hadn't told him. She _had _to tell him. "Seto…" She began.

"Ssh." He commanded, stubbornly, taking her hand and pulling her out onto the Level. "You are not going to die. You're not. You can't, because I'm going to tell you my name."

Azreal pulled back. "Seto, I don't know!" She promised. "Even when we were at your parents' graves, I didn't look at the name, I swear. You don't have to tell me."

"Yes I do." He insisted. "My second name… my original name, is Jetsuke… If you die, that name dies with you, Azreal."

She had to tell him. But not now, not yet, not like this.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Unfortunately, she was about to become even later. Just as she passed the girls toilets, the door swung open and she was dragged forcibly inside._

_After she got over the initial surprise of the attack, Anna looked at the offenders in bewilderment. "Téa? What is this?"_

_She heard the door creak closed and turned to see another girl standing in front of it._

_"Mai?" She said, utterly confused now. "Do you even go to this school?"_

_"That's not the point." Mai said sternly. "Téa called me at lunch. We need to talk to you, Azreal."_

_"What about?" She blinked. She had heard the conversations that generally happened in ladies toilets, and she didn't really want to be involved in one._

_"Seto Kaiba." Téa said deliberately._

_"Oh." Anna replied, leaning against the sink. So, the cat was out of the bag at last…_

_"Listen," Téa said slowly. "We know you can't control who you have a crush on- and hey, who would blame you for liking him?- but Seto Kaiba is not a good choice, at least not now."_

_"That is," Mai amended. "Basically, he's completely off-limits."_

_Anna blinked in confusion, then held back a laugh. Hadn't these two realised that they were…? Did they just think that she…?_

_"I know there's good in him somewhere." Téa pleaded desperately. "But it won't come out till he's ready. You should just forget him."_

_Mai snorted. "Face it, he's just a complete jerk. Give him half a chance, and he'll break your heart."_

_"We just don't want you to get hurt by wanting something you can't get…" Téa added softly. "There's no point even trying. You'll just get hurt."_

_"Don't you think he's been a bit more mellow recently, though…?" Anna hinted._

_"Well…" Téa began uncertainly, before Mai cut her off._

_"Phfft." She snorted. "Who cares! The guy's a jerk, and he always will be. So there's absolutely no point crushing on him." As always, blunt and straight to the point. Anna decided it was time to put them out of their misery._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Far below the drama above them, a group of people were gathered, trying to keep the porthole open. The longer they held it there, the more sensitive to Wherever they were; until they could practically see all twelve of the levels looming majestically out of the fatal fog that enshrouded it. It was majestic in the same way that the ruin of a medieval castle was, it had the sense of great strength and secrets locked away inside it, if only it was not wounded so much. This great city, for all it's faults, corruption, and pollution, was to approximately seven million, seventy-four thousand, two hundred and sixty-five people, home. All those were now scattered around across the planet, waiting and hoping and dreaming, not knowing if they'd ever get back home at all; and not knowing that all those hopes and dreams and were resting on the wings and shoulders of one girl and one boy. The city had begun with a single woman and a single man, and it looked set to end that way to.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Azreal stopped, and looked at the house before her. If three year old memory served, it was still exactly the same. The honey suckle trellis up the door. The peeling paint by the window she'd helped on it's way by picking at it. The door was even the same bright red colour._

_But it was not exactly the same. The house showed signs of age, as everything else on the planet did. The red door was fading now- it was fresh paint when she'd last seen it- the honeysuckle was bushy and overgrown, the apple tree she'd played in as a child stunted and dying._

_But her swing was still there. Azreal could see it, a little rusted, but still hanging firmly onto it's branch and swinging listlessly in the breeze just behind the fence._

_It demanded to be sat on. One last time._

_Without conscious thought, Azreal jumped over the waist-high fence and sat on what she still thought of as her swing. She gently pushed herself, but the swing was as well oiled as ever despite it's appearance, and it swung as silently as before._

_Azreal was so drowned in half-buried half-forgotten memories that she didn't notice when a man came to the door of the house._

_"Hey you!" He said, though not in an unfriendly way "Stay right there!" He began to walk down the path towards her. Azreal had that sinking feeling she'd accidentally become solid again._

_Against her better judgement and screaming instincts, Azreal stayed put. She just had to see… She knew it wouldn't be him, and even if it was he wouldn't recognise her, but she had to see. Just had to._

_"Can I help you, Miss?" He asked politely, considering it was his house and his garden and she was a seemingly random stranger. _

_"Um, no, I…" Azreal said, trying to swallow down tears. It was him. So now she had got what she had come for. She looked away, back down to the house and saw a woman holding a small boy's hand in the doorway._

_"Doug?" The woman called "Who is it?"_

_"No-one." Doug called back. "Just take James back inside, okay? Tell him daddy will be in in a minute." Azreal swallowed. He was happy. And he had a new family. There was no other reason for her to be here. She shouldn't have come in the first place._

_"I… I'm sorry to have disturbed you." Azreal finished lamely, and began to walk away. Then she felt a catch on her arm. She turned around, but kept her eyes focused on the floor._

_"Hold on a second." Doug said, sounding confused. Not daring to hope, Azreal lifted her head and met his eyes for the first time. "I know you, don't I?" Doug said slowly "But where from…?"_

_Azreal held her breath. It wasn't possible._

_But then, she had seen quite a few impossible things recently._

_She stopped those thoughts. _Hope_, she reminded herself, _Destroys logic.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Level Four, dedicated to 'Customs and Quality Control', was boring in comparison to the few parts of Wherever he had seen previously, although it was welcome relief to the staircase. It almost reminded him of the area surrounding the Night Market, down on the wharf. Although he could not see at all far through the ever thickening Nothing, what he did see seemed to be entirely Warehouses, with what appeared to be piers sticking out at jaunty angles from the edge of the Level. He suspected, should he walk _all _the way across, they'd be on the other side to. At the bottom of the stairs they'd just climbed down was what resembled nothing more then a customs booth at an airport, and, silently, they walked through it. It seemed that this level was for nothing more then shipping in what they needed and sending it up to the other layers.

"It never used to be like this." Azreal said, no more then a metre in front but already hard to see through the swirling white. "When I was really little, this level was dedicated to Art. Level Three was the docks. Of course, then the Nothing got to Level Three, and… Well. Before that, Level Two was the docks, and before that Level One… but the Nothing has never risen this far or this fast before." She sighed, muttering something quiet and foreign-sounding under her breath.

"What?" Seto asked, too short of breath now to say anything longer. It was silly. Before the air had been too thin to breathe properly. Now it was like trying to suck syrup up a straw. Not that he'd tried that, but still.

"Oh, sorry." Azreal said, sounding decidedly nervous now as they got ever closer to where they could climb even lower. "I was just mumbling to myself…"

"I know that." Seto sighed. "What language?"

"Polish." She replied, and, on seeing the familiar quirk of his eyebrow, elaborated. "You have star signs, right? Well, similar principle, except instead of working it out with stars, we do it with the country we happen to be hovering over at the time."

Seto remained silent. It would seem that, in that case, the city remained stationary, not, as he'd suspected, rotated along with the Earth's gravitational pull. No wonder it hadn't got dark yet, his mind refusing to believe the time his watch told him it was. But he didn't know how they would have done it. It would make their job significantly more difficult unless they were very lucky.

"It's just my formal language." Azreal added. "You use it to show extreme respect, you know, at funerals and so on. I'd hoped you would never hear me use it."

Seto didn't comment, saying instead "And the song?"

"Oh, that's not Polish." She sounded surprised. "That's the last remaining part of our old language. Nobody knows what it means. It was the only ancient artefact we found, these words written down. There's not even an official tune. For all we know, it could just be somebody's shopping list. But everyone sings it. Mothers to daughters, fathers to sons… It's passed on by word of mouth. We sing it in any way, in any tune, for any feeling… It's an expression of emotion for us. It leaves you feeling… peaceful. Powerful. That's why my nan asked me to…" She trailed off.

"Huh. Sounds useful." Seto forced out. "You'll have to teach me."

"Perhaps." Azreal answered, quietly, not sounding at all sure that she would. She stopped abruptly and kicked the top of a metal ladder at her feet that Seto hadn't even noticed until the clanging sound drew his attention to it. "This is the only way down I know of that isn't blocked off. I used to explore down here, but I never got too far before I came back up. Once we're down, it'll be hard to talk. It'll even be hard to think. I have no idea where the way down to Level Two is, or what it'll be like down there. It certainly won't be safe. I can't even guarantee we'll come back up."

"Are you sure about this?" Seto asked gruffly. Azreal nodded mutely. "Then let's go."

"…Are _you _sure about this?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Just start climbing down that ladder, Az. I'll be right behind you."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Suddenly, her bedroom door banged open and James was jumping on her shouting something incomprehensible about birthdays._

_"Morning…" She winced, pushing him off before he broke some of her bones. "Don't jump on me like that, especially not before I've woken up!" _

_"Why are you on the floor!" He asked, as though it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen._

_"So I can trap you in my duvet." She replied evenly, throwing it over him. He squealed and tried to wriggle free, but she wrapped him up easily. He was small, even for a child that would turn four in January._

_"Let me go!" His giggling voice came, muffled. But however much he squirmed, Azreal kept hold of him, yawning._

_"I don't think so."_

_"Yes! Ahhh! Let go! Let go!"_

_"Never!"_

_And so forth. If you've ever been a three year old, or had a younger sibling, you probably know the kind of noise that, down the hall, told Doug and Ruby it was about time they got out of bed._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Seto's boots clanged noisily on the metal rungs of the ladder as they slowly and steadily climbed down. The disconcerting thing was that, with every step, part of the rung would simply crumble away, through rust and the erosion of the Nothing over the years. He wasn't looking forward to going back up…

Below him, Azreal suddenly missed her footing on a particularly weak bar, and all but slipped off the ladder completely; only two things saving her. One was that, even as her right side flew away, her left held all the tighter. The other was Seto's stronger hands holding her right hand even tighter.

"Are you alright?" He panted, somehow managing to keep his balance even given his awkward angle on the ladder as he kept hold of her.

"Fine…" She stared fixedly at the ground below, not too far away now. Seto was always there. She only wished she could do the same for him. She carefully navigated the remaining distance and clanked down onto the metal floor that made up Level Three, the panel creaking in protest at the sudden weight on it's rusted rivets.

A moment later, Seto landed next to her. Azreal took his hand, rough and calloused because of the bandages around it, and began to guide him through what she knew of Level Three. This was where she'd spent parts of her childhood when she wanted to be away from others. Knowing that she could spend longer in the Nothing then normal muses, and hating the fact, she'd come down here quite often. Sometimes she'd venture away and explore the abandoned streets and homes closest to the way out; but, for the most part, she'd simply sank down at the bottom of the ladder and sat there, half hoping that then, that day, would be the day the Nothing chose to take her spirit back and release it into the air, flying free, away from all the judgements against her. That day had never come, until now. She shuddered at the thought of how miserable she had been at times here. Well, now the idea of being absorbed did not seem so comforting. She fully intended to fix this first.

Seto could see very little of Level Three, even less then he'd seen of Level Four. The only reason he knew Az was still there was because he could feel her hand, cold and hot in it's Muse form, clasped around his; and he could see her silhouette in places where the air was slightly clearer. Occasionally, an old building or the odd potted plant, totally unaffected by it's conditions, would jump out right in front of his face. At this point, Azreal would swerve violently, change direction, and carry on. He doubted even she knew where she was going any more, they'd come what felt like an immeasurable distance away from the ladder. She seemed to be guiding them in any random direction in the hope that they'd stumble into the entrance to Level Two. But, going about it like this, they never would. Seto was certain there was a better way, but he couldn't think of it right now; they'd instinctively speeded up, dashing recklessly any which way in the blind hope of finding what they sought. But there was a better way, and, at last, he knew.

The Levels of Wherever got progressively smaller as they went down, each level the size of the hole of the Level above it. The holes in the middle all lined up, perhaps, but each one was smaller then the one precluding it, the very rim visible through the hole in the level above. This meant that, just as easily as Azreal's older sister could drop a filing cabinet down to Lower Levels, they could also drop through-and that was what Seto had worked out. The tricky part would be making it onto the Level below and not just crashing all the way through. But it was a better plan then stumbling around like a blind man in the dark.

Azreal went to change direction, but Seto pulled her back. The levels were circular, and so, provided they continued in the same way, they'd eventually hit the centre. Or the edge, but he didn't want to think about that. He was trying to consider all the technicalities of plummeting through a pane of glass and hopefully making it onto the Level below without killing them, but Az had been right- the Nothing was fogging his brain and making him think and react more slowly.

…His footsteps sounded different. Rather then the constant clanking, creaking and groaning of the metal floor, this sounded more like cracking.

Sure enough, his hypothesis proved correct when the glass he'd unknowingly stumbled onto was sufficiently weak enough to let him tumble through it, dragging Azreal with him.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_By the time the two women entered the room, Anna was- or at least, appeared to be, curled up, asleep on her bed. Unfortunately, the old woman was not as gullible as she should have been. Anna tried to keep her breathing controlled as she came right up close, regarding her suspiciously. The only light, although it was still practically daytime, came spilling in from the hall._

_"How can she sleep already?" She knew Azreal was faking it._

_"Mother, please!" Ruby cried, keeping her voice low. She knew equally well that her sort-of daughter, as she had become known, was feigning sleep, but was bailing her out again. "Anna hasn't been very well at all, she had a month off, only went back today…"_

_"She's as fit as a fiddle." She sniffed, but at least she straightened up._

_"She's just as ill as you are." Ruby replied, smoothly, ushering the old woman out. Then she went and sat on Anna's bed, and the girl straightened up, looking at her dad's wife in the curtain-and-blind-induced gloom._

_"She's right, Ann." Ruby said in the end. "No self-respecting girl of your age could sleep at this time. We only had tea half an hour ago. What were you really up to, and, more to the point, why is the window unlocked?"_

_Stupid childlocks. Too hard to do up properly in a rush._

_"Um…" Anna considered. "Would you believe… I wanted some air?"_

_"Let's take it as read that I would not, and move onto the fact that you were trying to escape."_

_Anna shifted embarrassedly. "I was going to leave a note."_

_Ruby shook her head, but after a short pause spoke again, laughing. "Oh, go on then! You can get the bus home easily enough. Just don't let the old bag catch you! After all, the rest of us have family commitments to her, but as she's so desperate to make sure you know you don't…" _

_Anna was surprised, but then hugged Ruby briefly before leaping out the window once more, and away into the dusk_.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

They were lucky as they crashed painfully into another hard, solid, creaking metal floor; rust and corrosion flying up around them on their impact like brown and grey snow. For a second after their crash landing, Azreal rolled sideways, and, as they'd only landed on the very rim of the level, onto the glass in the hole in the middle. Seto scrambled to pull her back, the glass cracking and crumbling below her. For a moment, she leant against him, giving him a look that told him to _never _do that to her again. It had been somewhat a shock to her when she was suddenly dragged down through a glass panel and slammed into a metal floor.

Level Two was small in comparison to the others, she knew, only about a mile in diameter. It was also dark. Very dark. Although she could not see through the Nothing that held this level as much in it's cold fingers as all the others, she had learnt that this was the Level that, all the way around it's circumference, had the buoyancy columns strapped to it, reaching down far below Level One. Apart from that and one small building behind them, she knew that the Level was empty. Once upon a time, maintenance workers would have come down to make sure the columns that kept the city stable and floating were fully operational, but now it was far too dangerous. The columns were left in the hopes that they would remain self-sufficient. However, more frequently in recent years and months, Wherever would experience the occasional 'Earthquake' as one gave out. Shortly before she'd left, they'd begun strapping extra columns onto Level Four. But perhaps if they could fix the filter well enough…

She struggled to her feet, panting. In Nothing this thick, it was getting hard for her to breathe, so goodness knew how bad it was for Seto. She could feel it wearing away at her now. Her ankles had begun tingling and tickling, like a gentle form of pins and needles, but she wasn't deceived. It wasn't a good sign. All she wanted to do now was save Wherever. The Nothing would have to wait.

_Not yet…_ She willed, stumbling toward the solitary building they'd had the good fortune of landing in front of, Seto behind her. _Not yet… Not just yet. _

They headed into the building, neither noticing the small group of black feathers gradually fading away, marking where Jay's team had fallen in exactly the pursuit that Azreal and Seto were now undertaking.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Azreal! Wakey wakey!" Ruby bellowed down her ear. "What, are you in a coma or something?" Azreal looked at her blankly. She had completely missed everything Ruby had said to her._

_"You got pulled out." Ruby explained. "Because you were sick. They were going to pull you out anyway, but…"_

_"Why!" Azreal yelled "Why were they gonna pull me out anyway!"_

_"Calm down, Az…" Emerald said. "You're still ill."_

_"Answer the question!"_

_"You screwed up." Opal said bluntly. "All those little stunts you pulled. Quite frankly, it's embarrassing. All those extra mindwipes, your dad, that whole thing with setting up the friends… You've really done it this time, Az."_

_"Ryou and Téa!" Azreal retaliated. "That was totally legitimate! You're supposed to help love grow!"_

_"Grow, not _plant_ it. And you seem to be doing quite a bit of that…"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Never mind."_

_"What are they going to do?" Azreal said, fearful now._

_"You're going to have a case review…" Ruby said. "To see if you keep your job, and… oh, there's no easy way to say this…"_

_"Then say it the hard way!"_

_"Azreal…"_

_"Tell me!"_

_"You've been charged with trying to sabotage the musing operation on Earth."_

_"What!" Azreal screamed "But that's preposterous! Musing is my life!"_

_"We know…" Emerald said, trying to calm her down. "Don't worry, it'll be okay. No-one believes that accusation."_

_"Yes they do." Opal shrugged. Her other two-thirds glared at her. "Face it, Az. Given your track record, it would look suspicious to an outsider. Especially with your parentage thrown in."_

_"What about my parentage?" Azreal asked dangerously, standing up._

_"Calm down there, kiddo." Ruby said, passing her something. "Here, mom left a card. She was here, honestly, but then she had to go-"_

_"Work." Azreal completed bitterly. "Work, again. She's never here."_

_"Oh, c'mon…" Emerald said in a vain attempt to kill the tension. "It's a great card."_

_"A great card. Wonderful." Azreal said sarcastically. "Now all I really want is a mom that gives a shift if I live or die!"_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Like the umbrella Seto had held over her on Valentine's day to shield her from the rain, the building provided some welcome relief from the Nothing. It wasn't more then a hut, really, with only one room, but at least here the Nothing wasn't quite so thick, as it's only method of entrance had been to seep in around the edges of the door. It had about the same consistency as it had two levels above, and so gave them to pause and catch their breath slightly.

"I did _not _appreciate that method of descent." Azreal gasped, flatly, rubbing a small gash on her upper arm where it had caught on the glass. The Nothing around her gave her the odd feeling that the words were being rammed back down her throat.

"But it worked." Seto pointed out. "I suppose this would be the way down?" He inclined his head to a trap door in the floor as he busied his hands by trying to remove the bandage. The glass had only cut a swathe through it, and it made his hand rather harder to use effectively. So, slowly, and as gently as possible, he began to unravel it, his blistered palm gradually appearing over the top.

It didn't appear that Azreal was going to wait for him to finish, however, because she threw open the trap door. Immediately, Nothing bubbled up like steam out of a kettle, forcing what little air they'd had out. However, after the preliminary spurt, it came more slowly, and Azreal could make out what seemed to be the beginnings of a slide, the metal as dull and eroded as everything else had been. At first, she thought it looked far too rickety to even contemplate considering thinking about using it; but then she realised it was no worse then Seto pulling her through a glass floor, which she'd survived only recently. Besides, the pain in her legs was getting worse, and she wondered vaguely if, if she were to remove her shoes, she'd still have toes. Not hanging around to find out, she threw herself onto the slide; and Seto followed, the bandage streaming away behind him like the string of a kite until the last length finally ran off his hand and away into the sky.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Az!" He drawled. "And here was me thinking you left a challenge for me. I mean, you were here for a week and a half and only succeeded in being landed in hospital; I spend a day here and it's done!" He laughed in an irritating way. Azreal glared at him._

_"Hello, Lira." She said through gritted teeth. Seto noticed she was holding some sort of instrument. "There's a portal back to Wherever over there for you. Why don't you go jump in it?"_

_"Ha ha ha." But none the less, Lira started to walk out of the door and towards the vortex._

_"They replaced me with _him_?" Azreal asked, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Bet you guys got on really well…"_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal might have found the fall through the floor petrifying, but Seto found this worse. Of course, he would not have admitted being scared of anything, and generally, he wasn't. But, for some reason, this made him long for his office and his laptop and his 'suicidal plant' more then ever. The slide was steep, and, even though it was rusted and old, they still slid at a speed not even Wheeler in sight of food could contend with. They rounded a corner, and yet, kept sliding endlessly on, the resultant wind whipping his face until he was forced to close his eyes; the last thing he saw being his bandage flipping away. Despite this wind, it was still impossible to breathe. Perhaps even harder then when the air had been still and thick. It simply went too fast to catch.

To make matters worse, the chute seemed less then safe. He guessed it had been originally intended for goods, not people, and he bet that even if it was in a brand-new state it would have creaked and groaned to the nines. As it was, the constant moaning mixed with the winds sounded like a constant screaming, and he could feel it bending and giving beneath them, and it was only seconds till it gave way. Seto began to wonder exactly what he was doing here. He'd intended to spend the holidays working on a way to beat Yugi's God Cards- it was about time they duelled again- and he'd even had the jet readied in case he had to resort seeing Pegasus about it. Instead, he was shooting down a rickety metal slide and he really- and then it was over and he was spat out onto yet another metal floor, practically on top of Az.

This one was surprisingly clear. The concentration of Nothing was a lot less. Azreal shortly realised that this was because the air was moving- down here on Level One, the smallest Level, the furthest away from the level above, the air could move a lot more easily. It was no gale-force wind, it was hardly even a breeze, but the air was moving just enough to let them see their surroundings.

She hadn't expected this, the smallest and lowest of the layers, to have a hole in the middle- after all, there was nothing below it that required light. However, it was shaped like a doughnut, just like all those above it. Except… No, it wasn't. Instead of glass in the hole, there seemed to be pipes and pipes spewing out of it like snakes from Medusa's head. This was not a nice image, so Azreal hastily amended it in her mind to branches coming from a tree. But, whatever imagery was used, they looked to her like nothing more then wide, industrial pipes, snaking upwards all around. She knew that these pipes were run up between the levels, hung on the underside of each to pump Creativity into the level below, and that it was blown up from the floor on Level Twelve. However, it was a bizarre experience to stand between them, a forest of pipes, swirling upwards at seemingly random intervals of space. But, however awe-inspiring, there were so _many…_

"How are we going to find which one's causing the problem?" She asked, despairingly.

"This much couldn't be caused by just one breaking." Seto assessed, quietly. "I suspect this is a far smaller problem."

Azreal _tried, _she really did; but she just couldn't see how _more _then one breaking made it a _smaller_ problem, especially as she'd been up for goodness-knows how long. She came to the conclusion that it was some kind of crazy Seto-logic and sat back to wait for him to explain.

Seto smiled. An honest-to-goodness smile, in this place of fear. Things weren't nearly as bad as he'd thought; they'd been lucky.

"Take a look down the hole, Az." He said, nodding over to where he'd been looking while she was gazing round at the pipes. "There's some sort of control terminal down there. It's just a computer that's gone out of whack!"

"So…" Azreal said slowly. "You think we'll be able to fix it?"

"I do."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_Azreal ran helter-skelter through the office as fast as she could. People were used to her by now, and calmly moved out the way- or stuck out a foot to attempt to trip her up or kick her in the shin. She was used to them to, and ignored them._

_"You're running late, 'Real!" Rebecca called, leaning over the desk._

_"I know!" _

_"Wait!" Rebecca called out. "You forgot these!" She waved the notes on her charge and her help at her. _

_"Oh…" Azreal replied sheepishly, reversing to get them. "Thanks, 'Becca!"_

_"You're welcome. Now go!"_

_"Right!"_

_"Good luck! I'll see you when you get back!" Rebecca called after her, ignoring the glares thrown at her. So what if she happened to like Millie's youngest daughter? Did it affect any of them?_

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Within a matter of minutes, they had located a ladder down into the pit and had climbed down there with much speed. It was not _nearly _as sturdy as it looked from above, that Azreal knew. It was supported not by proper columns as with the Levels, but with chains, half of which had snapped and the rest that looked dangerously close to joining them. She was surprised the platform didn't swing listlessly to and fro with the breeze. The one bonus was that the air was almost completely clear, all the Nothing that was there being sucked straight up to the city.

Apart from that, there wasn't much to it. The pipes hung below them to filter the air for Creativity before sending it up to the pumps, and they snaked up through the floor forming an almost solid wall around a relatively small standing space and a tiny computer terminal. The most disconcerting realisation came when she saw that the same chains from which this small platform was suspended were also the ones holding onto the pipes. There'd be no extra support there. If the chains snapped, so did the pipes.

Wait. Then that meant… She looked around, and saw that some of the pipes had indeed fallen away. They came up through the floor, and begin filtering with the fine sieve plates inside, but it wasn't nearly enough as it all just billowed back out into the air and got mixed up again before being sucked up into the pipes and pumped into the rest of the city. The sections of pipe that had fallen away were the most important parts, and, here in this more sheltered spot, the Nothing was doing it's job and wearing slowly away at those that remained. Seto took a step forward, and, immediately, one of the chains gave, and, before her eyes, that section of pipe tumbled away into the pit of Nothing that hung below them, incinerated immediately.

To make matters worse, the years of filtering had just left the Nothing behind, not got rid of it. It had accumulated, and now was a literal vat of the stuff. She didn't fancy her chances, or Seto's, if they fell into it. Not that it mattered. Glancing down, she saw that her toes really had gone. She didn't point this out to Seto as the Nothing worked it's way slowly up her body. She forced it out of her mind. First, they had a job to do.

Seto stepped more cautiously this time, but all the care in the world could not stop chains snapping at every step. He looked around him, sure that there were enough to hold them for long enough, then hurried over to the computer- slow and steady hadn't made a blind bit of difference, so now haste would do fine.

"This platform won't hold much longer…" Azreal said nervously. Over three quarters of them had snapped now, and the others were straining and groaning with the extra weight and the constant pushing of the Nothing.

"It'll hold long enough." Seto said determinedly, fingers flying over keys. "Don't you see? The problem is that the pipes are sucking up unfiltered air! That's all it is! All that needs to be done is the pumps turned off and the parts replaced. They were just old."

"Can we do that?" Azreal asked, trying to ignore that the lingering 'funny feeling' in her ankles had stopped. She didn't dare risk looking down.

"Are you giving up?" Seto replied. "But the answer is that _you _can't. You can hardly work a telephone. I, however, can." Of course, the second he said that, he hit a hurdle- and, in frustration, the keyboard. The force of the blow caused their footing to be even more precarious, the platform bucking and swaying like a pendulum, causing even more chains to snap. Azreal stumbled backwards slightly, luckily crashing into a solid wall of pipeline instead of tumbling off.

"I'm guessing you can't either." She said, wryly.

"It wants-" Seto began, before being abruptly cut off. "The computer's just stopped!"

"_What!"_

Seto growled in frustration. "I was attempting to turn the pumps off, but then it just tripped out. The Nothing must have got into the circuitry or something…" He pulled the computer out to look at the back of it. To his surprise, there didn't appear to be any wires or supply going into it at all. No wonder it wasn't working…

Something rolled against his boot, and he glanced down to see what looked like a television aerial. He picked it up and looked at it in suspicion. "What on Earth…?"

"And in the Floating Cities." Azreal reminded him. "But it looks a spike."

"A spike?" Seto repeated, mystified as he turned it over in his fingers.

"Like a lightning rod." Azreal informed him. He felt her stand behind him. "It attracts the Creativity that powered earlier computers, before we got the generators in. Then they were left 'cause the electricity may trip out but Creativity never does. Never did." She amended. "It must've snapped off during your little temper tantrum…"

Seto looked away. It had turned out to be a relatively minor problem, but without power, he could think of no way they could fix this.

And it was all his fault.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_"Please, hear me out." Millierie pleaded. Azreal said nothing, so she took it as permission to continue. "I just didn't want you to make the same mistakes I did…"_

_"What, end up with an illegitimate kid?" Azreal replied sarcastically. "Wow, thanks for the advice, mom."_

_"No." Millierie said gently. "You don't belong here. You were never to designed to have a job with so many rules. You were designed to live."_

_"Oh, glad to hear I don't have to top myself."_

_"You love him."_

_That surprised her. Azreal looked up in shock, but Millierie just smiled back sedately. _

_"Don't make my mistake. Az… look, I've hardly been a good mother. I haven't really been any kind of mother at all. But, look, let me do this one thing for you. Stop doing what she think you should do, do what you _feel_ you should do… I mean… Look, go back to that Kaiba guy, alright? I have a feeling he needs you. Your father to. I have a feeling… that he'll be a better parent then me, Anna."_

_Azreal looked up, trying to comprehend what Millierie was saying to her. "But…" _

_"You don't want to be here, Azreal." Mother told daughter gently. "You never did. You just knew that you ought to."_

_Azreal looked at her mom for a while, the doubts showing, but then… Suddenly, she sprung forward and hugged her mom hard. Millierie held her for a while, vaguely thinking of how things could've, should've, been. But it was too late now. She pushed Azreal away._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Azreal was ripping the back off the computer with a kind of primitive desperation, reminding Seto creepily of an animal ripping meat from a carcass. Her fingers scrabbled at the back, looking for a hand hold, and, at last, the cover came off. Seto moved around to have a look at what made this machine tick.

Azreal stared into the innards of the computer in despair. She may have known that this computer ran off Creativity, but that didn't mean she understood how it worked one tiny bit. The wiring and circuit boards and all the things she couldn't name might as well have been on a UFO, for all the sense they made to her. Seto, however, appeared completely at home, muttering under his breath to himself.

"The components look fine." He told her. "Apparently, it only effected this external 'spike' of yours." It really was rather anti-climatic. He had expected something a little more foreign to him, but from the looks of things, Creativity worked and moved in much the same way as electricity did. This seemed odd to him, as up till now, it had all the properties of a gas. He supposed he'd never know…

"So it'll still work?" Azreal checked.

"No, not without power." Seto shook his head. "I'm sorry Az, but I can't see how we can-"

"Where does it go in?" She asked abruptly.

"Where does what go in?" Seto answered in confusion.

"The power!"

Confused, Seto pointed at a cluster of wires that had fallen loose, having worked out that they had once been attached to the spike. To his surprise, she gathered them up and held onto them tightly in her fist, squeezing so hard that he was surprised they weren't absorbed into her hand. She then knelt down with her head over the nearest filter, from which the pipe to funnel it up had snapped. And then, a second later, the computer flickered back on.

"…I don't know _what _you're doing, Az," Seto said, hesitantly. "But it's working! Keep it up!"

"Just hurry…" She groaned, shuffling her position slightly so he wouldn't turn around and notice that her feet had gone and now her legs were getting even shorter. She pushed the thought out of her mind, concentrating on breathing in as much of the Creativity billowing up through what remained of the filter as she could. She gulped breath after breath of the stuff, willing it to travel quickly through her body, pushing it physically out of the pores of her hands, into the computer, letting it work… She ignored the fact that by shoving it all back out of her body there was nothing to combat the Nothing whizzing around her. She was the only make-shift power source they had.

"Az, it's asking for the passwords again!" Seto said, stumbling slightly as another cable gave way. "And this platform isn't going to hang around for very much longer!" He added.

"Just don't get stressed this time!" She yelled back, head over the filter.

"What's the password!"

"How should _I _know!" Azreal demanded back. Pushing the Creativity through this fast was taking it's toll, and throw in the Nothing as well… "Just try anything!" The screen flickered as she talked, and she resumed breathing deeply, although by now her chest and lungs were screaming in protest.

"…Any suggestions?" Seto asked.

Azreal didn't answer, by now consumed by her task of keeping the thing on.

Seto scratched the back of his neck in thought. The password could be _anything_! How was he supposed to guess?

"Seto, please, hurry…" Azreal groaned. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up…

"Just a little longer, Az…" He promised, though he was no closer. "Just keep it up a little longer…" He typed something in, crossing his fingers in desperation. "I'm in!"

"What was it?" She asked, purely out of curiosity as Seto began to try and work out how to turn the pumps off.

"'Password'."

Azreal snorted, though she supposed it was good for them. "Hurry…" She begged again, too short of breath for anything else; her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of her, her lungs burning with a cold fire as they tried to keep up, her throat and lips dry as a desert…

"Just a minute longer…" Seto soothed. "I think I can…" It wanted another password. Just great. No, it wanted 'Name and authorisation'. Somehow, he didn't think he- or Azreal- had that.

"I need a name and an authorisation code! A technician or something! Someone high up!" He told her.

"Use my mom." She told him. "Millierie Kiyoko, access code…Ah…" She paused as the computer began to give out and, tired as she was, forced more into it. "ROEA."

"…How do you spell Millierie?"

She didn't reply, just shuddered slightly, eyes closed. Okay, he'd have to figure it out on his own… But hey, he wasn't undeservedly called a genius. He worked it out easily enough. He entered the name and authorisation, and then the windows showing how well each individual pump was functioning began to close, as, one after another, they stopped.

"Done." Seto announced, quietly. "Well…That was easy."

"Look…" Azreal whispered, straightening up. "Look…"

He was looking. Now that the pipes were no longer sucking, the Nothing was building up around them, and more were snapping, but that didn't matter. The filters had stopped, and the air began to clear all over again. And, staring up through the holes above them, they could see it happening on all the Levels. No more was being pumped up, and as a result, the Nothing was dissipating at last, faster then he could ever have imagined; either blowing away into the atmosphere or simply tumbling back down the pipes and ending up back in the swirling 'vat' of Nothing that remained beneath them.

They'd done it.

Behind him, Azreal was laughing in joy. "We did it!" She screamed. "We did it! Oh, Seto… We…" She trailed off, having no words to say, but then, laughing, expressed herself in the words of the song. ""Muwal Sarnes, sarne er li, Fet, Teffet, Tef!" She kept shouting the final three words over and over in her joy, and, as the Nothing blew away, they echoed out further and further; ringing out for all the World, and those above it, to hear.

"Don't get too excited." Seto said soberly, though he to was smiling as he watched the deadly stuff swirl away. "It's not done yet. All these pipes will need replacing, and the chains and the filters to… It's only because they're so old and breaking that the pipes went down to begin with." He looked around them. The remaining chains, now very few in number, were creaking and groaning. They needed to move before the entire platform gave way. "No, this _entire _platform is scrap. But maybe next time they could think of…" He trailed off as he turned to see Azreal, teary-eyed, watching not the city, but him. She had no body below the waist. The words were forced back down his throat and formed into a lump there.

"Surprise." She whispered, smiling slightly.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

_It had rained and rained for days, and had never stopped for more then a few minutes, and it looked set to do it for a few more. But at that moment, Azreal decided she didn't care as she stood on the school porch with Seto, looking out. _

_"It's really tipping it down…" Seto commented. "I can barely see… Ah, there's the car…"_

_She caught his hand, and he looked at her curiously._

_"Let's walk." She said spontaneously. "Let's walk it."_

_Seto shrugged. _

_"Alright."_

_And so, they blew off the ride home, and they walked back to the mansion through the streaming rain, laughing as they ran and splashed along the pavement._

_And she didn't let go of his hands._

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

It was odd, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as she thought it would. Considering she was being dissolved, simply melting away, she felt surprisingly okay about it. Maybe it was the effect of the Nothing. Maybe it wasn't. It didn't seem to matter so much any more. That was kind of strange as well. You'd think that if your legs had quite literally disappeared from under you, you'd care a bit more then she actually did. But, right then, she felt better then she had done for a long time. They'd _done _it. They'd done it! She turned and smiled at her companion, but it soon faded from her face.

Seto was staring at her, not knowing what to say. She didn't know what to say to him, either, but then he came and wrapped his arms around her as though that could keep her there, as though if he held on hard enough, this wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen. He'd seen too much death and hardship already. He'd only just learned to care again. He couldn't lose it all now. Just couldn't. He sank down to his knees, still holding what remained of her, the old metal creaking beneath him. The chains were not secure, especially now the Nothing had taken it's toll. It would collapse any moment now. But he couldn't leave. Not without Az. Not without Az.

Silently, she pressed something into his hand. He didn't have to look to know what it was, but it was her wish feather, still white.

"You can still use this." He said, quietly, desperately. "You can still-!"

She shook her head. "No…Seto, I was dying anyway. Even if we hadn't come to Wherever, I wouldn't have lasted much longer."

He stared at her.

"I've been dying ever since I came down to Earth." She told him, tears spilling onto her cheeks. "My powers just couldn't survive there, so they were leeching off my human side to. At least now I got to do something great before I went. And…" She trailed off, took a deep breath, and tried again. "And that's why I can't use my feather. It grants your heart's desire." She wanted to hug him, but it was too late. Her arms had gone. "And I have my heart's desire already. Being with you, and near you, and with all the others as well… That's all I ever wanted. All I ever wanted is right here with me now." She smiled. "And we did it, Seto. We saved Wherever. We did it."

She knew she was dying. It was a fact that seemed to be there and she couldn't change it. Still, there were things she'd miss.

Even now, she couldn't help but think of those, her family and friends, who she would never see again...

Her Dad, so forgetful and clumsy, like her; but so kind- he always tried to understand, even if he couldn't. Then there was Ruby, who it was undeniable- was a great person. She had done her very best to accept her, right from the start. And now, she was sure, she had. And, the final member of her new family- James. Half brother or full, it made no difference. He was so smart; a little shy, but that didn't matter. It was a shame, really, that she wouldn't get to see how he turned out. She bet he'd be successful...

Success, she thought, was normally a word associated with the other half of her family. Another Ruby, headstrong and determined, and willing to lead when there was no-one else. Then there was Opal, who, as surly as she may seem, cared more then it appeared- she just liked to watch, and observe, before she attempted anything. There was Emerald to, who gave all her love to anyone who needed it. A little naive, perhaps, but a great comfort. They had _all _been her strength, at one point or another, loving her even when everyone else rejected her. Sometimes they just didn't understand, but they cared enough to _try._

If she had one regret, it was not getting to know her mother better. Millierie had always seemed such a distant person, always away from home; but she had still managed to see what no-one else had- where her youngest daughter would be happiest. And, yes, she had just wanted her to be happy. Azreal knew that, but she still... from what she'd heard, she was a lot like her. They would have been great friends, she was certain, if only there had been more time...

'Great friends'... She certainly had some of them...

Ryou, who smiled even when he was sad, because it was easier that way. She hoped he was getting the new beginning he wanted, especially as one of them was about to met their end. He had to do it for them both. She wondered if anyone would remember to tell him...

Téa, who cared so much that it was almost overbearing; but who always instinctively knew when she was needed and how she could help.

Kaho, so shy and quiet- but just what she had needed when things got tough and she just needed someone, _anyone, _to understand. Kaho was wrong. She didn't need anyone to be a hero for her. She already was one.

Joey, who had a heart almost as large as his mouth, was always ready to defend them. He'd even agreed to back off Seto a little. That was a big deal to him.

Yugi, who, what he lacked in height, he made up for in heart. And hair.

Mokuba... was still a little bit of a mystery. But, she was certain he had great things ahead of him to. Considering all the junk that had happened to him, she had never met a nicer, more noble kid then the younger Kaiba.

And then there were the others, who she did not know so well, but who had been there for her none the less:

Duke, the laid-back one who helped the balance of things. He was always so sure, so confident, lending them strength.

Mai, who always _tried _to help, although sometimes it didn't turn out too well. Her idea of 'help' was just a little different to most, that's all. Like trying to get Ryou and Téa together. Not that she herself hadn't done that...

Tristan- he didn't say much, and when he did it was often to tease someone, but it didn't matter. His heart was in the right place, and firmly secured.

And, as he'd heard him say so often, there was Well; probably stopping anyone from entering the wood even now. Now she'd never find out his real name...

She smiled a little. All these people had helped her time be happy. She just wished she could have thanked them, told them that she did appreciate it, that having friends her own age had proved to be as wonderful as she'd envisioned, only more, so many new experiences...

And, on that line of thought brought her inevitably to the one she'd been trying to avoid.

Because that was where Seto lay.

There was no doubt about it, he was cold, rude, and about as arrogant as they came. He was also just about the best thing that had ever happened to her. Although, she'd never met anyone as misunderstood, especially by themselves. She could only hope that...

"Az..."

Seto was still looking at her, with no expression. It was almost as if, for once, he _wanted_ to show emotion, but had forgotten how; or perhaps did not know which one to use. Her mouth twisted a little more upwards as she thought this, remembering the first time she'd seen him smile. It was strange, how much people could change and yet be the same person... and now she'd never see him smile again. She hadn't been expecting that when she got up this morning- it seemed like him pulling her into the lake had happened in an entirely different world. And now, here they were in their last conversation together. They could not talk about nothing, she had to make this count...

"Seth..." There was so much to say, and none of it could be said. She was all but gone, and the chains that held the platform in place were straining as far as they could. Time was not short, it was up. There was only one thing to be said. "Run."

She finally faded away, smiling to the end, eyes glinting at some private joke. Seto turned wildly, blindly, no time to think; and stood, but all he saw was the chains finally snapping. The platform jerked wildly, finally coming face to face with the fate it had been trying to avoid. There was nothing to grip, no strongholds, so what other choice did he have? Seto fell, down towards the remaining Nothing, his mind strangely empty.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

A/N: If you made it this far, I salute you! I shall postify the Epilogue tomorrow night, though, of course, that may vary by your respective time zones. _(Nod nod) _This fic is all ready to be wrapped up! _(Sob) _And the last bit won't be as long as this, I promise. It'll be, like, a thirtieth of the size… Really short, I promise. Two pages… Bye now!


	29. When It's All Been Said and Done

A/N: And so, we arrive at the Epilogue. I quite thought that we would never get here! Now it's pretty sad to see it go… But let's get on with it, shall we?

Disclaimer: For the final time this fic, if I were to post you a letter with a list of everything I own, I needn't use an envelope or paper- it would all fit on the stamp.

Epilogue: When it's All Been Said and Done

Duke held onto Kaho, and Kaho onto Téa, and Téa onto Yugi, and Yugi onto Mokuba, and Mokuba onto Mai, and Mai onto Joey, and Joey onto Tristan, and Tristan onto Ruby, and Ruby onto Emerald, and Emerald onto Opal, and Opal onto Millierie, and Millierie onto Well, and Well onto Danielle, and Danielle onto Ryan, and Ryan onto Joseph, and Joseph onto Bethany, and Bethany onto Maria, and Maria onto another Ruby, and Ruby onto Doug. Miss Basa stood off to one side, guarding the forest as always, making sure nobody disturbed them; and also keeping a beady eye on both James and Cassie as the others held the porthole open as best they could. They were mentally exhausted, concentration gradually slipping away, meaning there were dips and surges in the Porthole, when, all of a sudden, it happened.

Through their time of being connected to Wherever, they had grown sensitive to it; and so when it threw off the cover that had been sticking to it, they all felt it. The sudden surge of Wherever reasserting itself on their minds caused the muses among them to fall to their knees, but still, no-one let go. They had to keep the opening there just a little longer, just to allow them to get back, otherwise they'd have to wait for goodness knew how long to get out. So they had to keep it open. Just a little longer…

Then, certainly, it would be time for one _serious_ celebration.

But then, they all realised that they would not be coming back. They didn't know how they knew, or what, _exactly_, they knew; but they knew Seto and Anna would not be coming back through that porthole. They had gone, first Azreal and then Kaiba. Somehow, the city knew it, so they knew it to; mutely, they all let go of their stubbornly maintained circle and let the porthole die. No-one said anything for quite a while, although a few among them began to cry.

"Who woulda thought it…" Joey muttered. "Kaiba dying for a cause…?"

"But they did it." Millierie put in quietly. "They saved Wherever, you all felt it. They did it."

Doug smiled. "That's my girl." He whispered.

"I…" Mokuba stammered, voice cracking as he cried in a childlike way. "I guess I should just be glad that he figured out how to be happy first, right? I kinda thought he never would… And then Ann… she…" he shook his head, unable to speak any more.

"For all her oddities, she meant a lot to a lot of people." Kaho finished, smiling softly.

"And they made a difference to seven million, seventy-four thousand, two hundred and sixty-five people who now have a home to go back to." Ruby put in. "That's not a bad legacy to leave."

People nodded in agreement. They supposed that, really, that was all anyone could ask for. When it had all been said and done, there was just one thing that mattered- not any earthly treasure, but rather, had you done good. Was there one single person in all the world who would remember good of you? Making a positive difference to just one person made it all worthwhile. And they could _both_ rest assured that they had done that. That was some comfort in a situation that otherwise would have been unbearable. There would be time for grief later.

"What now?" Yugi was asking of Millierie. "What's next for the Muses?"

She gave him a crooked grin. "Haven't you realised? It's already begun!"

Yugi blinked as the others turned their attention to Millierie, but it was Kaho who spoke.

"The second the Nothing came away, the chutes and portholes opened up again." She said, quietly. "All the Muses will have felt it. Across the world there'll be a mass exodus of Muses going on as they all rush to their nearest portholes; to go home, to get back to where they belong. And they'll want to know who saved them…"

"Don't worry." Opal put in, stonily. "They'll know. Right, mom?"

"Yes." Millierie nodded. "There'll be a lot of celebration in Wherever tonight; of them and of what they did." She grasped Well and Opal again. "Let's get this porthole open again. It's time we were going home."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The Muses returned, crowding into Chutes as best they could, as many people as possible going back up at once, joyous and jubilatory. They ran through the streets, amazed at the changes from the last time they'd been there. The Nothing had gone! Even hanging over the edge of Level Four, they could see it had cleared from Levels Three through to One as well. It was amazing! Extraordinary! Not only had Millierie got them out before it was too late, she'd got them back as well! The celebrations would go long into the night for a city that was almost lost but was then found again.

All at once, a whisper got around, passed from ear to ear or shouted from the rooftops. _To the Palisades, _it said. And as soon as they heard, the Muses moseyed.

Millierie Kiyoko was waiting for them, standing on the flat roof of one of the shops. She was crying, in full view of everyone. The first mutterings of confusion began as more and more citizens of Wherever crowded in; spilling up precariously to the roofs of buildings. Shouldn't she be happy? Was it, like others, tears of happiness…?

All at once, a great cheer, a roar, sprang up; increasing in dynamics and in texture, as more and more voices and animal sounds joined the chorus. They were cheering Millierie. But she didn't seem to accept the praise, holding up her hands to stop them. Then, at last, she spoke; her voice echoing loud and clear from her elevated position.

"Something amazing has occurred today." She said, quashing another shout as it rose up in agreement. "But it has cost more then any of you know! My youngest daughter, my Azreal, went to Earth more then eighteen months ago; she wasn't dead. But today, she, and her friend Seto Kaiba, came back. And not only did they come back, they _saved _us. Not me, _them. _A half-human, and, 'worse', a human." She bit her lip hard. "They died, but they saved this city that hates them first. Which just goes to show that the rift between our races has grown too wide. I knew that, and my daughter was proof. Our prejudices blind us, my friends."

The square was silent. This was not the patriotic speech people had been anticipating.

"But not any more." Millierie promised. "Children will no longer be educated to think of humans as a tool for us to get what we want! This is the new age of Wherever- We shouldn't have to hide away from the humans any longer! We've always said we have to be secret because humans would never accept us… but how do we know if we don't accept them first?"

A deathly silence fell, but then one brave solitary person began clapping. More and more joined in. Millierie grinned.

"But, for now… Let's party!" She declared. From behind her, a huge cascade of balloons billowed up, and on another one of the roofs, a hastily assembled began to play.

And the Muses didn't need telling twice.

Say one thing for Millierie Kiyoko- she knew how to throw a party, and fast.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Screw this. I'm climbing up."

"No! Don't move, you might break what's left!"

Seto sighed deeply.

"…I've been in some inconvenient positions before," Azreal considered. "But this just takes the biscuit. And eats it. Hmm, and to think, this day started out being normal."

"You don't say."

The first few seconds after the platform collapsed had been very confusing. It had tilted violently to one side, and, as he had rolled down it, Seto had realised that the broken chains would still be hanging beneath it. His only chance of salvation. He had grabbed hold of this chain, narrowly avoiding the fate of falling straight into the Nothing. He'd actually survived.

And so had Azreal, despite the fact that she had been absorbed by the Nothing.

Once, many months ago, Téa had asked if there was anything they could do to stop her from dying, and Azreal's response had been blunt: 'Not unless you know a way to kill off my Muse half completely separately to my human one'. At the time, she had not thought there was actually a way to do so. However, as things turned out, she had accidentally stumbled on one. Muses were more sesptible to the Nothing then humans were, and so, it followed that Muse _halves _were also more sesptible then human ones. This resulted in Azreal, having been absorbed while in her Muse form, being spat back out in her human one.

Well, that was the theory, anyway. In all honesty, she wasn't quite sure what had happened or how. She was just glad it _had_.

Of course, when she had been spat back out, she had plummeted straight through the air until Seto, acting completely instinctively, grabbed her. Now she was clinging to the chain beneath him, hoping desperately that it would not break again. He had been understandably surprised. But, then again, so had she.

The problem was this- they couldn't move without risking the platform falling away completely. Their arms were already stiff from holding on for such a long time, and then, even when the Muses _did _make it back to Wherever, their cries for help could not be heard over the sound of the parties and parades being held in their honor. Someone up there must find their lives _hilarious_. Still, at least they finally had time to talk. Seto had presumed that now she was a hero and all, she would be staying in Wherever- obviously where she considered her home. But when he'd suggested it, she'd laughed so hard she had almost fallen off. When she realised he wasn't joking, she had said, sounding surprised: 'You must be kidding. It took me fifteen years to get away!'.

But before too long they had run out of conversation, and, unable to stand it any longer, Seto had just decided to try and climb up- had Azreal not squashed that idea.

She may have been stuck hanging off a flimsy chain above the last of the Nothing that was just _waiting _for her to let go, but things weren't so bad. She was _alive_. Her wings _might _have come in handy, but you couldn't have everything. She was alive. And now that her Muse powers were gone, she would be for some time. The future seemed Duracell powered in it's brilliant brightness. In the same way that humans might say that you had to sink or swim, Azreal had always heard fall or fly. For months now, she had been plummeting toward a dark end that she could not stop herself from reaching. But now, even though they were gone forever, she felt as though her wings had spread out wide and were carrying her back up towards the sun; flying higher then she had ever dared to imagine.

"So…" She said, slowly.

"So?" Seto repeated.

"…How're we going to get back up?"

It really was strange, Azreal thought, how life could turn out.

_**---THE END---**_

A/N: The End… Well, thanks to everyone who's read this far! A big big _big _thanks to **Dragonlady222 **and **Willowwind **who have been faithfully R&Ring all this time! And, naturally, that extends to my 'silent readers'; my younger sister who has always told me off for being distracted from this, and to Scooby or Icedragon or whatever the crud she calls herself nowadays! They've sat through all my silly ideas and rants and goodness knows what else since I started and put up with me not talking about anything else! Just one more in this series to go, eh?

Which leads onto this- there is one more fic to write about Az. Well, with Az _in _it- it'll be a little… different to this. But it won't be coming for a while. First I have a tale to tell involving Superheroes. It'll be fun, promise. Then it's straight to the next in, as my friend calls it, the 'Wings' series- 'Fall or Fly'! Still, it'll be strange… A lot of the OCs, my friends, you have just seen for the last proper time. Lira won't be in the next one- obviously- and I can only promise passing appearances from the Kiyoko triplets, James, and Kaho. It'll be strange, not writing them… But there will be other OCs, and hopefully I'll learn to love them to!

And so, to conclude, the stats of this fic: (Excluding A/Ns and filler chapters):

**Pages: **339. Wow!

**Words: **180, 330

**Characters: **1, 006, 533

**Paragraphs: **6, 802

**Number of different names Az has been called: **8+.Azreal, Kiyoko, Mitsan, Az, 'Real, Ann, Anna, Wings- plus _x _number of insults from various people!

As you might've guessed, this is my longest fic to date! So thanks for reading all this way!

…Blimey, look at the time! I need to grab something to eat before youth group! That was **Wherever you Go,**I am **Waffles4eva**- and I really hope you enjoyed this fic as much as I did! (That's not including the times I got stressed over the updates, eheheheheh…) And so, for now, Goodbyyyyyyyyye!

Waffles


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